Recipe: Crispy fish taco with chipotle mayo and tomatillo salsa

Recipe: Crispy fish taco with chipotle mayo and tomatillo salsa

45m prep | 15m cook

Last updated

Crisp batter with a hint of chipotle smokiness, steaming white fish, warming chipotle mayo, pickled red cabbage and zingy tomatillo salsa, all wrapped in a warm corn tortilla? Sounds like the perfect lunch to us.

This California-style Mexican classic hums with flavour thanks to a few of our favourite Central American ingredients; tomatillos, corn tortillas, chipotle in adobo and chipotle powder.

Find them - and plenty more South and Central American essentials - in-store and online now.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 500g firm-fleshed fish (barramundi, snapper, etc.)
  • 1/2 cup cornflour
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 1/2 cup cold beer
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp chipotle powder
  • Neutral oil for deep frying (grapeseed, rice bran, vegetable)
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 2 limes, quartered into wedges
  • Coriander

For the pickled cabbage:

  • 1 cup shredded red cabbage
  • 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp caster sugar

For the chipotle mayo:

  • 2 tsp sauce from a tin of chipotle in adobo
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice

For the tomatillo salsa:

  • 1 822g tin whole tomatillos
  • 1/2 white onion
  • Small handful coriander leaves

 

Begin by making the pickled cabbage the day before. Combine the cabbage, red onion, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt in a non-reactive bowl, mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight.

To make the chipotle mayo, mix the mayonnaise, chipotle in adobo sauce, chipotle powder and lime juice together. Cover and set aside.

Prepare the tomatillo salsa by draining the tin of tomatillos, discarding the liquid, and using a blender or stick blender to blitz the tomatillos together with the onion and coriander. Season to taste and set aside.

Cut the fish into 1 inch-thick lengths of around 6-8 cms and coat them in the cornflour, dusting off any excess. Combine the flour, salt and chipotle powder in a medium-sized bowl.

Preheat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan.

Add the cold beer to the flour mix, stir quickly with a chopstick or knife, then drag the fish through the batter until well coated.

Once the oil reaches 180C, fry the fish in batches of 2-3 at a time, resting the cooked pieces on a few layers of paper towel.

Warm the tortillas gently in a preheated oven, on a frying pan or in the microwave. Drain the liquid from the pickled red cabbage.

To serve, spread a little of the chipotle mayo over each tortilla, add a little of the (drained) pickled red cabbage, top with a piece of fish or two, and finish with a drizzle of the tomatillo salsa. Serve with lime wedge and coriander leaves.

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