Baja-Style Tempura Fish Tacos

By á-30

Ingredients

• For the chile-lime marinade
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 10 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 serrano chiles, stemmed and sliced
• 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, ground (optional)
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 2 pounds firm white fish fillet, cut into 4-by-3/4-inch strips (See LC note)
• For the Baja tempura batter
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard (optional)
• 1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• For serving
• 10 (5 1/2-inch) soft white corn tortillas (or, if you want to be authentic, do as they do in southern Cali and double the number of tortillas so each taco has a double thickness)
• Baja Cabbage Slaw
• Mango-Banana Salsa
• Lime wedges
• Pickled jalapeño rings

Preparation

Step 1

Make the chile-lime marinade


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1. In a large bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups water, lime juice, garlic, chiles, oregano (if using) and salt. Add the fish and let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
Make the Baja tempura batter

1. In a separate bowl, whisk together the ice water and mustard. Gently stir in the flour, but don’t overmix; a few small lumps are okay. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Fry the fish tempura

1. Drain the fish and pat the pieces dry with a paper towel. Have a plate lined with paper towels at the ready.

2. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat at least 2 to 3 inches of oil over medium heat until it reaches 360°F (182°C) on a deep-fat thermometer.

3. Remove the tempura batter from the refrigerator and stir once more. Dredge the fish in the batter, a few pieces at a time, to evenly coat. Gently drop 2 pieces of fish at a time into the oil, adding 2 more pieces every 30 seconds (fry no more than 4 pieces at a time). Fry the fish until crisp, light golden brown, and floating in the oil, about 2 1/2 minutes per batch. Monitor the temperature of the hot oil throughout frying, letting the oil return to proper temperature, if necessary, between batches; to ensure crispness, it must remain a constant 360°F to 380°F (182°C to 193°C). If the temperature is too low, the fish will be oily; if it is too hot, the pieces will burn.

4. With a fine-mesh skimmer, transfer the fish tempura to the paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Repeat with the remaining pieces of fish. During frying, be sure to remove any pieces of floating batter, or they will burn and darken the oil, which will transfer a burned flavor to the tempura.
Serve the fish tacos

1. Place the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping, on a platter. (If using double the number of tortillas, simply double them up.) Divide the slaw and filling equally between the tortillas. Top with salsa and garnish or allow guests to do so themselves. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla (or two), open face, in one hand. Spoon on some slaw, then some filling, then top with some salsa. Fold and eat right away.