The taco that made Baja famous. Crispy battered fish, cool crunchy slaw, and a warm tortilla, finished the SoCal way with Hot Avocado working double duty as a spicy crema and a straight drizzle on top. Serrano and habanero heat against cold creamy avocado is the whole reason this combination works.

Ingredients

Fish and batter

• 1½ pounds firm white fish (cod or mahi mahi), cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold Mexican lager (sparkling water works too)
• Neutral oil for frying

Slaw

• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• Pinch of salt

Hot Avocado crema

• ½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 3 tablespoons SoCal Hot Avocado
• Squeeze of lime

To build

• 8 corn tortillas, warmed
• More SoCal Hot Avocado for drizzling
• Lime wedges

Directions

1. Toss the cabbage with cilantro, lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Chill while you cook.
2. Whisk the crema with Hot Avocado and a squeeze of lime. Set aside.
3. Pat the fish strips very dry and season lightly with salt.
4. Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 365°F.
5. Whisk the dry batter ingredients, then stir in the cold beer until just combined.
6. Dip each strip in batter and fry in batches, 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden. Drain on a rack.
7. Build each taco: warm tortilla, slaw, fish, Hot Avocado crema, then a straight drizzle of Hot Avocado. Lime wedge on the side.

Tips

Dry fish is the secret to batter that stays crispy. Pat it down twice.

Keep the beer cold. Cold batter hitting hot oil is where the crunch comes from.

Double up the tortillas if your fillings run heavy.