San Diego Style Fish Tacos

San Diego Style Fish Tacos are just like the tacos you enjoy when you visit Southern California taco shops!

These are beer battered fish tacos with cabbage, cheese, sauce and lime juice. They’re my favorite sort of comfort food to make at home. And I enjoy them whenever I’m in California too! If you’ve not tried making San Diego Style Fish Tacos at home yet, it’s time. They’re going to be a family favorite for sure!

Ingredients needed:

• all purpose flour
• garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper
• beer
• mayonnaise
• plain yogurt
• vegetable or canola oil
• white fish fillets (cod, scrod, etc)
• corn tortillas
• shredded cheddar cheese
• salsa
• cabbage
• lime wedges

How to make San Diego Style Fish Tacos:

The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

1. The first step is preparing the batter for the fish. Combine the flour, garlic powder, red pepper and black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Whisk the beer into the flour mixture until well-blended.
2. Next you will prepare the sauce. Mix the mayonnaise and yogurt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Then, it’s time to fry the fish. Heat enough oil in a skillet to 375° F to fry the fish fillets. Rinse the fillets and dip them in a bowl of lightly salted cold water. Drain and pat them dry with paper towels. Dip the fillets into the batter and fry in batches in the hot oil until crisp and golden brown; do not allow the fillets to touch each other. Drain the fried fish on paper towels

Finally, it’s time to assemble the tacos. Heat the tortillas in a skillet until pliable and warm. Stuff each tortilla with 1 fish fillet, shredded cheese, white sauce, salsa and cabbage and drizzle a wedge of lime juice on top. Fold the tortilla over to enclose the filling and serve immediately.

How to fry corn tortillas:

If you prefer to fry your corn tortillas, you can certainly do that. Just add a little bit of canola or vegetable oil to a small skillet (enough where the tortilla can be submerged). Heat it up over medium heat. Add a tortilla to the skillet and let it sizzle and fry on both sides for about 8 to 10 seconds. Remove the tortilla from the oil and set it on paper towels to soak up the oil. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

What kind of beer should you use for beer batter?

Since tacos are considered Mexican cuisine, I would recommend using a Mexican beer. I’d suggest using Corona, Dos Equis or whatever your favorite Mexican beer is.

What kind of fish is best to use for fish tacos?

Any white fish will do. I suggest using cod, scrod, tilapia, snapper, mahi mahi or halibut.

One serving of these San Diego Style Fish Tacos is two tacos. This recipe makes 6 servings (12 tacos), so plan accordingly! If you have a hungry bunch, you may only feed four people at 3 tacos each. Enjoy!

The Best Fish Taco Recipes:

• Fish Tacos with Citrus Salsa
• Broiled Fish Tacos
• Blackened Fish Tacos
• Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Cream
• Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

5 from 1 vote

San Diego Style Fish Tacos

By RecipeGirl.com (shared from California Sol Food: Casual Cooking from the Junior League of San Diego)

If you're a fan of California fish tacos, you can make them at home now!

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings (2 tacos per serving)

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Ingredients

BEER BATTER:

• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 cup beer

WHITE SAUCE:

• ▢ ½ cup mayonnaise
• ▢ ½ cup plain yogurt

TACOS AND ASSEMBLY:

• ▢ vegetable or canola oil, for frying
• ▢ 1 pound cod, scrod or any white fish fillets
• ▢ salt, to taste
• ▢ 12 taco-sized corn tortillas
• ▢ shredded cheddar cheese, to taste
• ▢ salsa, to taste
• ▢ shredded green cabbage
• ▢ lime wedges

Instructions 

PREPARE THE BATTER:

• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, red pepper and black pepper and mix well. Whisk the beer into the flour mixture until blended.

PREPARE THE SAUCE:

• In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and yogurt.

FRY THE FISH:

• Heat enough oil in a skillet to 375° F to deep-fry the fish fillets. Rinse the fillets and dip them in a bowl of lightly salted cold water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Dip the fillets into the batter and fry in batches in the hot oil until crisp and golden brown; do not allow the fillets to touch each other. Drain on paper towels.

ASSEMBLE THE TACOS:

• Heat or fry the tortillas in a skillet until pliable and warm. Add to each tortilla a fish fillet, shredded cheese, white sauce, salsa and cabbage and drizzle a wedge of lime juice on top. Fold over to enclose the filling and serve immediately.

Notes

• *Timesaver: Use bagged coleslaw mix instead of chopping up cabbage.
• *A quick, easy way to warm tortillas. Wrap 6 tortillas stacked in a damp paper towel. Microwave 30 to 60 seconds until warm.
• RE: NUTRITiONAL INFORMATION: It's very difficult to calculate the nutritional information on these tacos. The oil for frying is not figured into the calculation and none of the toppings are either, (except for the sauce).

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (2 tacos), Calories: 399kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 43mg, Sodium: 193mg, Potassium: 476mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 98IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 45mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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