I am so happy to have come across this recipe for fish tacos.  They are simple to prepare, fun to assemble, and incredibly satisfying for the taste buds!  They also fulfilled my requirements of being a) beer battered and b) panko breaded!  Your pescetarian friends will love this dish!  My boyfriend thinks it’s such a treat when it’s Fish Taco Night in our home.  It’s also a GREAT contribution for picnics.  I most recently cooked this for my housemates in the casa I am living in in Peru for the next couple of months.  Most of them had never had fish tacos before, so it was pretty funny to see them struggling trying to keep everything together without all the ingredients falling onto the plate!

Sunday night dinner party in our pj’s at Casa Yllika (Lima, Peru)

The recipe comes from Tori Avey’s blog.  She has wonderful recipes with great stories behind various cuisines.  Check out her site!

Beer Battered, Panko Breaded Fish Tacos
My adjustments marked with *

prep time: 10 mins
frying time: 25 mins
Makes:  14-15 tacos

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups beer (or substitute seltzer water)
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder (or substitute paprika*)
1 1/4 cops panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless white fish fillets (about 4 fillets… I use tilapia!)
vegetable oil, for deep frying
15 small tortillas* (I highly prefer flour over corn!)

Topping Ingredients

2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
2 ripe avocados, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, diced (mix with chopped, fresh cilantro for added flavor*)
fresh lime wedges for garnish
hot sauce
others – Choose your own!

Sauce Ingredients

1/2 cup mayo*
1/2 cup greek yogurt*
1 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp fresh lime juice (or more to taste)
1 1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Mix together all sauce ingredients in a small serving bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Personally, I think the sauce is the star attraction of this recipe!

Add all of the dry batter ingredients (flour, corn starch, garlic powder, cayenne or paprika, and salt) in a large bowl.  Mix well with a whisk.  Add beer or seltzer water and whisk together.  The mixture will foam.  While it settles, cut each fillet into about 6-7 smaller pieces.  Add to the batter.  Pour panko breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl.  Set aside

Fill a small saucepan with 1 inch of oil and heat over medium high heat.  While oil heats, prepare first batch of fish.  Use tongs to shake off excess batter from a piece of fish.  Dip both sides in breadcrumbs.  Drop a sprinkle of breadcrumbs in the hot oil to test if it is hot enough.  Add fish to oil; be sure not to overcrowd.  The fish will cook quickly – about 1 1/2 minutes per side.  Both sides should be light brown and crispy.  Drain on a wire rack over a baking pan (to catch the drained oil).

Allow your guests to assemble their own tacos as they please!

Notes:
– I use greek yogurt in place of sour cream any chance I get.  It tastes the same, contains loads of protein, and is much healthier than sour cream!
– Optional: Sprinkle a few drops of water onto each tortilla.  Heat them in a small skillet over medium heat to soften them a bit before serving.
– This beer batter is also PERFECT for onion rings!  I usually leave out the panko though because it’s already crunchy enough.