Amazing crispy fish tacos made with a panko crust, served with tasty condiments and topped with an Asian spicy mayo.
I really like crispy fish tacos as they burst with flavor and are fun to put together and eat. You can create a lot of variations with different condiments, spices, and sauces so you never get bored of it!
What do you need for this recipe?
White fish: I like haddock or cod which has great texture and taste when breaded and fried.
Breading: In order to have good breading, you’ll need flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. I like the texture of panko breadcrumbs and use them for this breading.
Red Onions: Once pickled, red onions provide a nice crunch and tang to the fish tacos.
Avocados: Avocados add nice richness and creaminess to the fish tacos.
Lime and coriander: Lime and coriander elevate the flavor of the fish in the tacos.
Red Cabbage: A flavorful cabbage slaw with red cabbage adds a nice crunch and freshness to the tacos.
Spicy Mayo ingredients: Although you can buy commercial mayonnaise, this version made out of mayo, Greek yogurt, lime juice, and sriracha is healthier and tastier!
How to make your crispy fish tacos?
Although you can buy condiments already made, you’ll get tastier and fresher condiments by making them alongside your fish. Here are a couple of tips to get tasty condiments and have great fish tacos:
Condiments
Pickled onions: The hotter your pickling liquid, the softer your onions will be. Let the pickling liquid cool down a bit prior to pouring on the sliced onions for crunchier onions. Follow my pickled red onions recipe for more tips and tricks on pickling onions.
Avocados as a condiment: Add some lime juice and sprinkle of salt to your diced avocados to stop them from browning when in contact with the air.
Spicy mayo: You can make your spicy mayo thinner by adding a bit of water to the mixture. It will be easier to drizzle on your crispy fish tacos.
Cabbage Slaw: The key is adding acidity, tang, and good seasoning to your slaw to compliment the fried fish. You can follow the instructions below or the following Mexican cabbage slaw recipe.
Fish
Breading the fish: Make sure you season generously the fish with salt and pepper. As you go through the different steps of breading the fish pieces, keep one hand dry and one hand to manipulate the wet fish pieces. During each step, remove all excess flour, egg mixture, or panko breadcrumbs before moving to the next step. You are now ready to get crispy with your fish for your tacos!
Frying the fish: Keep an eye on your oil temperature. You are looking for nice golden crispy fish pieces for your tacos, not soggy oily pieces. The key is to key the oil temperature around 350F-375F. If you crowd the pan too much, your oil temperature will drop and you won’t be able to create a golden crispy crust. I recently got a nice instant infrared thermometer to measure the oil temperature after watching a recipe video from Geoffrey Zakarian. It works wonders!
Assembly
Tortillas: Warm your tortillas prior to serving either by warming them in a frying pan or in the microwave. Depending on your personal taste, you can pick corn or flour tortillas.
Finally, assemble your crispy fish tacos. Put some mayo and cabbage slaw at the bottom, insert a couple of fish pieces and then sprinkle avocado, pickled onions, and coriander leaves. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of mayo.
Ingredients
Spicy Mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. sriracha
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 lime
Cabbage Slaw
- 2 cups red cabbage
- 1 lime
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp. coriander
Pickled Onions
- 1 red onion, halved and sliced
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
Fish tacos
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 limes, quartered
- 1/2 cup of flour, for breading
- 1 egg, for breading
- 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs, for breading
- 1 1/2 lb. haddock or cod fillet
- 2 tbsp. Coriander leaves, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 12 small flour tortillas
- canola oil, for frying
Instructions
- For the spicy mayo, mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, lime juice, sriracha, salt and pepper in a bowl until combined. Reserve
- In a medium bowl, mix the canola oil, white wine vinegar, coriander, salt and pepper until combined. Add the cabbage and mix until combined.
- In a small saucepan, pour the water and apple cider vinegar. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Dissolve the sugar and water in the liquid.
- Pour the hot pickling liquid on top of the sliced red onion in a mason jar or a small bowl . Wait at least 15 minutes for the pickling to occur. The hotter the liquid, the softer the onions will get.
- Halve the avocado lengthwise and remove the pit. Remove the avocado meat with a spoon. Put the flat side of the avocado on a cutting board and dice in small pieces. Put the avocado in a small bowl and mix in the juice of a lime. (This will stop the avocado from browning when in contact with air.)
- In three separate shallow dishes or bowls, add the flour, beaten eggs and panko breadcrumbs. Generously season the flour with salt and pepper.
- Cut the fish in 1 inch portions which will fit nicely in the fish tacos. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- For the breading, with one hand, put a couple pieces of fish in the flour and shake until covered. Remove excess flour from the fish pieces and put them in the egg mixture, until covered. Remove excess from fish pieces and put them in the panko. Shake until covered and put in a separate bowl. Repeat until you've breaded all fish pieces.
- In a frying pan, put 1/2 inch of canola oil and bring it to around 375F.
- Put small batches of fish pieces without crowding the pan. Fry the fish pieces until the breading is golden (1-2 minutes per side).
- Put the fried fish pieces on paper towels to remove excess oil.
- To plate, put spicy mayo and slaw at the bottom of the tortillas. Add 2-3 fish pieces and add pickled onions, diced avocado and coriander. Finish with a drizzle of spicy mayo and lime juice.
Nutrition Information
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
