We Californians love us some good fish tacos. It’s a thing here. Being near the coast means we have access to the freshest seafood and we live in what is often referred to as the “salad bowl” of the country. The northern and central California regions grow more varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables than any other state. Combine that with the Hispanic influence on our cuisine, and you end up with access to the freshest, most flavorful, and healthy foods to eat.
There are a lot of foodies here in California, and that results in getting to try some pretty amazing food combinations. For us, fish taco’s combine two of our favorites, seafood and Mexican food. The fish and fresh produce keeps things healthy and light, while the Mexican influence, combined with fresh ingredients gives them a superb burst of flavor.
We love battered and fried fish fillets in our tacos, but if you are trying to reduce the amount of fried foods in your diet, you can easily grill the fish instead! Street tacos are typically not served with cheese or sour cream, but my guys love it, so add the condiments you love and leave out the ones you don’t.
TIP: This is a great quick and easy weeknight summer meal, especially if you decide to grill the fish on the barbecue, instead of frying it.
Street Style Fish Tacos
Ingredients you will need to make Street Style Fish Tacos; the amounts vary, depending on how many you are serving. Set out individual bowls with all the topping ingredients and let everyone add the toppings they like the most.
- Corn Tortillas
- ½ lb. Cod fish fillets, or any white meat fish
- Salt & pepper
- McCormick Seafood Batter Mix
- Beer
- Oil, if frying fish
- Shredded cabbage
- Diced onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Diced tomato
- Diced avocado
- Fresh limes, quartered
- Fish Taco Secret Sauce (recipe below)
- Shredded cheese, optional
- Sour cream, optional
If you are going to batter and fry the fish, cut the fish fillets into 1 inch thick strips and season with salt and pepper.
Mix together batter mix and beer, following the instructions for the amounts that are listed on the box.
Heat enough oil, in a frying pan, so that it is about a ½ inch to ¾ inch deep.
Oil is ready when a drop of water sprinkled in the oil sizzles and pops.
Dip each fish strip into the beer batter, letting some of the excess batter drip off and then fry in the oil until golden brown and crisp. Turning to cook on both sides.
Drain fried fish on a plate lined with paper towels.
Assemble tacos with your ingredients of choice and drizzle liberally with the secret sauce and squeeze of fresh lime juice.
TIP: make the secret sauce the day before, it allows the flavors come together and the sauce gets better and better!
In my humble opinion it’s the secret sauce that makes these fish tacos a truly delicious, flavorful taste explosion in your mouth. My husband uses the left over sauce on almost everything, as a salad dressing, as a dip for chips, with celery and carrots, chicken nuggets, as a sandwich spread, with leftover pizza, as a pasta sauce…I think it would make even your teenagers old sneakers taste good, LOL!
Fish Taco Secret Sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 2-4 limes
- 1-2 jalapeño peppers, diced
- 1-2 bunches Cilantro, roughly chopped, about a 1/2 cup, up to a full cup or more
In a blender or food processor combine all the ingredients; and blend until smooth.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is better. Sauce will last about a week in the fridge. It never lasts more than a couple of days at our house.
The measurements for the amounts of lime juice, jalapeño and cilantro depend on your own personal taste. Start with smaller amounts, and add more until it tastes good to you. We personally like lots of garlic, lime juice and cilantro.
I serve these tacos with tortilla chips and freshly made Guacamole! Olé!
Let me know if you give this recipe a try and if you love it as much as we do!
Feast on my friends!