Sometimes, you find great food in unexpected places. Last summer, I attended the BlogHer conference at the Marriott hotel in San Diego. There was a poolside restaurant at the hotel that served some amazing fish tacos. A little hotel cafe is probably the last place I’d expect to find something noteworthy– which just goes to show, I should always keep an open mind! I wrote about the tacos in my travel notebook, making my best guess at the ingredients. San Diego is known for their beer battered Mexican fish tacos, but these tacos were exceptional– ultra light and crispy with a perfect flavor, creamy cool sauce, and perfect crunch from panko breadcrumbs. I’ve been planning for a year to crack this recipe, and this past weekend I finally had a chance to work on it. I’m so excited about how this one turned out!
Recreating that super cripsy, flavorful exterior was the most challenging part. I finally solved it by beer battering the fish with a spiced batter, then dipping each piece in panko breadcrumbs for an ultra crispy coating. I wanted a really light beer batter, so I made it tempura style, adding beer for flavor– the carbonation helps to make it nice and crisp. This batter/breading combination took me many, many tries to get exactly right. My family has started calling it Tori’s “famous” Crispy Panko Coating. Yup, gotta bold that and take ownership of it, because it’s just that good. I’m excited to share the results with you!
Panko breadcrumbs are key to this recipe. These Japanese-style breadcrumbs have gained popularity in recent years due to their light, crispy texture. You can find them in most grocery stores, either near the breadcrumbs or in the Asian food section. If you’re having trouble locating panko, regular breadcrumbs will suffice, but the finish product won’t be quite as crunchy.
These tacos are pareve without sauce. If you add the sour cream (which I highly recommend), then of course it becomes a dairy dish. To keep these tacos dairy free, feel free to use a sour cream substitute for the sauce, like Tofutti. And if you like a creamier sauce, you can mix half mayonnaise, half sour cream– I like it that way, too.
You’re going to love these tacos, they’re like a fiesta in your mouth. I’m excited for you to try them! If you make them, please report back and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Note: If you’re avoiding alcohol, you can make the batter alcohol free by substituting seltzer water for beer. This breading method allowed me to skip using egg in the coating, so those who are allergic to egg can also enjoy this dish.
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Crispy Panko Fish Tacos
Ingredients
Taco Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless white fish fillets - choose a firm white fish like cod or halibut
- 15 corn tortillas for serving
- Grapeseed oil or oil with a high smoke point for frying
Tori's Crispy Panko Coating Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups beer (or substitute seltzer water)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs
Topping Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 ripe avocados, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- Fresh lime wedges for garnish
- You can add other taco toppings if you prefer-- salsa fresca, fresh chopped cilantro, jalapeno or hot sauce for a kick
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream (or 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or more to taste)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- Salt to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Cut the fish fillets into chunks that are roughly 2 inches long and 1 inch wide.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the beer or seltzer, flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Note that the beer will be difficult to measure out due to foam; you’ll need at least 1 1/2 cups of beer to make this batter. The batter should be thick like pancake batter, but if it appears clumpy or overly thick add more beer, seltzer or water until mixture is thin enough for dipping.Pour the panko breadcrumbs into another bowl. Have an empty plate handy for the breaded fish.
- Dip each piece of fish into the batter. When you pull the fish out of the batter, let the excess batter run back into the bowl.
- After dipping in the batter, gently roll each piece in panko crumbs to coat. Leaving too much batter on the fish will lead to clumping, so make sure your fish is only lightly coated with batter before breading. Use one hand for wet dipping and the other for dry, otherwise you’ll end up with lots of clumps in the dry coating ingredients. Place the breaded fish onto the empty plate.
- When your fish is breaded, heat 1/2 inch of cooking oil in a skillet over medium high. Fry the breaded fish pieces in batches of 6. If the oil is at the correct temperature, it should bubble and sizzle evenly—no splatters or popping.
- Flip the fish when they turn dark golden brown. It will take 2-3 minutes per side for the fish to become golden and crisp.
- While the fish fries, whisk together your sauce ingredients. Reserve the sauce.
- Place fried fish pieces on a wire rack to drain, if you have one. This will keep the fish as crisp as possible. Use paper towels to catch the oil drips underneath the rack. If you don’t have a wire rack, you can drain the fish pieces on a double layer of paper towels.
- When all the fish pieces are fried, assemble your tacos. Heat the corn tortillas in a skillet till they become warm, fragrant, and flexible. Place 2 pieces of fried fish in each taco. Top with a bit of shredded cabbage, some diced tomato, 2 slices of avocado, and 1 tbsp of sour cream sauce. Serve warm with fresh lime wedges.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Pam says
I want these tacos asap! Nothing beats a good fish taco and these look amazing.
Rachael says
I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and mayo for the sauce. Thanks for the great recipe!
Prissnboot says
Am wondering what a low sodium alternative to ggd breadcrumbs would be…corn flakes would be about 300mg once they were crushed. Would matza be too weird? I will find out tonight…..
Betty-Anne says
Hands down the best fish tacos I’ve ever made! I used fresh halibut. On my hot gas stove top they cooked very quickly, possibly just 90 seconds each side made them golden brown and they were perfection. That beer batter is superb…and the panko crumbs make it super light and it didn’t in anyway taste greasy or even fried. All the directions were perfect! 🙂
Tori Avey says
They are my favorite Betty-Anne! So glad you like the batter-panko method, I must admit I am pretty proud of this one. 🙂
Risa Levine says
How can I modify this to be gluten free?
Mike likes this recipe says
I found your website searching for panko fish tacos and I was not disappointed. The fish came out great, the sauce is absolutely delicious. Will make again, thanks for the great recipe!
Wayne, Big Fat Daddy's says
found your blog and love it-going to enjoy making these for lunch this week.
Stephen says
I have made these a couple of times and have to say this is a dynamite recipe!! The light tempura-style batter with the panko coating is out-of-control. I am new to your blog and this was the 1st recipe I have tried from it. I cannot wait to try more! Thank you for such a wonderful resource.
Tori Avey says
Thrilled you like it Stephen! I work so hard to make sure my recipes go above and beyond, testing them multiple times in different variations till I get it right. It makes me so happy when readers comment me about their experience, so thank you!
Brandon says
Made these for dinner tonight, made a few tweeks to suit the family and got rave reviews. Thanks for the recipie. Even my brother who doesnt like fish had one.
Tori Avey says
So happy you liked it!
Carlota says
My fish crumbled. How do u keep it from crumbling? I have not been able to keep it crisp and fried. I was sad… But I will try again!
Tori Avey says
Hi Carlotta, what kind of fish did you use? Cod is very sturdy, so if you didn’t use cod, try it– and make sure you cut wide chunks.
agedd says
To keep fish from crumbling, don’t turn it over for a long time. Cooking fish is kind of like cooking pancakes; you wait until they are pretty much cooked on one side before flipping over. Hope this helps you in your future cooking endeavors:)
Jill Greenlaw says
Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe. I can’t wait to make it tonight.
carole says
Hey, I made these for my kids and I did a short cut- I used ready made fish sticks, and they kids loved them, thanks for all your recipes- I enjoy using them…
Yolanda says
I made this last night when I had a friend over. It was delicious! The change I made was to use coleslaw instead of cabbage and tomatoes. Amazing I will be making it again.
Barry Scott says
Hi Tori. We made it last night and it was fantastic. Sallyanne doesn’t like cilantro but the sauce was great nonetheless. Another great recipe goes into the rotation.
EdC says
Suggestions to make it gluten-free?
TJ says
Could these be baked instead of fried?
LindsayLB says
TJ, we just did them tonight. I didn’t batter them before breading, just did a little lime juice, then rolled in panko seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Bake on a foil lined cookie sheet at 375 for 20 minutes. We were using hake. Turned out great.
Kari@Loaves and Dishes says
Even though the fish is fried, the tacos do look light, fresh and delish.
inessa says
This looks delicious
barbara says
How deep should the oil be….an inch? Looks like a saute pan to me but cannot tell
Tori Avey says
Hi Barbara, it’s a skillet– the oil should be 1/2 inch deep.
Brian says
As far as the type of fish used, would tilapia work as well?
Tori Avey says
Hi Brian! Tilapia will work, but try to get thicker fillets if you can– the thicker chunks of fish hold up better to frying. Enjoy!