La Cooquette

Discovering the world of food through fun & easy recipe videos and travel adventures!

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Recipes
        • Appetizers
        • Baked
        • Desserts
        • Hispanic food
        • Holidays
        • International
        • Non-bake
        • Recipes for Kids
        • Calzone Recipe

          Calzone Recipe: Traditional vs. We Bare Bears

          Homemade Sprinkles Recipe

          Easy DIY Edible Chocolate Heart Candy Boxes Recipe

  • Lifestyle
        • Baby stuff
        • Baby food
        • Lifestyle
        • Motherhood
        • Parenting
        • Pregnancy
        • Toddler life
        • Food and travel
        • Eating out
        • Travel Tips
        • Events
        • La Cooquette shows the KidsBeeTV app to daughter

          Playful digital learning with KidsBeeTV kids app (en español!)

          Maria Sierra (La Cooquette) and her toddler enjoying a beet banana blueberry popsicle

          Blueberry Banana Beet Healthy Popsicles for Kids

          Álvaro y María orgullosos de su paella a las brasas

          Best Grilling Gifts for Dad in 2021

  • Videos
    • YouTube en español
    • YouTube in English
  • Blog
  • About/Press
    • About Me
    • Press
  • Courses

Ensenada Style Fish Tacos Recipe [Tacos de Pescado]

May 24, 2021 by LA Cooquette | Leave a Comment

In love with my fish tacos
Ensenada is proud of their fish tacos, tacos de pescado. I decided to make them at home, and they were amazing

I have more than a reason to try a fish tacos recipe. A few years ago we had a family roadtrip to Ensenada and tried the famous local fish tacos. I wasn’t sure about having a taco filled with battered fish, but I totally enjoyed it. They were delicious!

During our roadtrip to Ensenada, we tried different dishes packed with local flavors and fresh ingredients. The town has a rich history around fish and seafood commerce, which has nurtured a vibrant and innovative gastronomy.

If you want to check our roadtrip video, check it out below!


Where did fish tacos originate?

I was proud of my tacos de pescado

After we tried tacos de pescado at Tacos Fenix in Ensenada, their rich flavor and crispy batter left us wondering. Sadly (but understandably), when we asked for the recipe they refused to share it, as it has been a family secret for more than 50 years now.

I had to do some research to find out more about these mysterious tacos and I learned that they were first served at the Mercado Negro de Ensenada (Black Market in Spanish). Curiously, the cradle of Ensenada’s Fish Tacos got its name after local fishermen offered illegally species reserved to fishing cooperatives.

Getting back to fish tacos, originally they were served at food stalls for the first time in the 1960s in the Mercado Negro. The original filling was made with angelitos, a shark species that wasn’t too popular among the locals due to its unpleasant appearance.

Mario “El Bachigualato”, was the first to offer the original fish tacos filled with fried angelitos. Arguably, angelitos weren’t only ugly and very cheap, but they were easy to cut into fillets and to remove entirely their bones.

Soon enough, Don Mario had competition. Some local business people started to offer fish tacos as well. But, as delicious as they were, Don Zeferino Mancilla Fortuna thought they could improve making them with battered fish. And he was right! The light and crispy crust adds a special touch.

Overall, after its evolution during the late 1960s, the Ensenada Style fish tacos became a well-rounded dish. We can enjoy it nowadays as a crispy, spicy, creamy, refreshing, and zesty meal!

After trying them, you can understand why these tacos made Ensenada famous worldwide.

Toppings and salsa are CRUCIAL

As important as a crispy and fresh battered fish fillet is for this recipe, toppings and their special dressing are essential.

Pico de gallo and red pickled onions encurtido (or curtido) add a refreshing zestiness and mouthfeel. Along with them, the spicy and creamy salsa completes the taco-ish taste we all love.

So, if you don’t have encurtido at home you could either buy it or try to make it from scratch, but bear in mind that it tastes best after spending two days marinating in the fridge. This is a good reason to have a jar with encurtido always at hand.

Get ready in advance with my pickled red onions encurtido recipe.

Let’s cook Ensenada Style fish tacos, tacos de pescado!

Tacos de pescado, fish tacos, served
Tacos de pescado are colorful, vibrant, with a rich variety of textures and flavors

Without further ado, let’s start cooking our fish tacos, tacos de pescado. As I said before, you can prepare a pico de gallo and have encurtido at hand, so you can use them as toppings.

Another important step before deep-frying your fish fillets, is to disinfect your cabbage. I use a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a liter of water (about 34 ounces) for that.

I let sliced cabbage soak in this solution for about 8 minutes. It’s good to keep it clean, and make sure we have a healthy meal!

Below, in the recipe, you can find all the ingredients and a step-by-step guide, so you can recreate this Baja California gastronomic jewel!

Tacos de pescado, fish tacos, served

Fish Tacos [Ensenada Style]

Try these legendary Fish Tacos recipe with beer-battered fillets, encurtido, and a delicious salsita… inspired by the original Ensenada Style!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 10 tacos

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tilapia or white fish fillets (I chose tilapia)
  • 10 Corn tortillas

Fish batter

  • 1 ½ cups of wheat flour
  • 1 ½ tsps of baking powder
  • 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp of garlic powder
  • 1 cup of beer

Spicy and delicious salsita

  • ½ avocado
  • 3 tbsps of cream or white butter
  • 4 tbsps of mayonnaise
  • ½ can of chile chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 piece of cilantro
  • 5 scallions
  • The juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsps of vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp of garlic powder

Toppings

  • ½ cabbage or white cabbage, disinfected with 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 liter of water
  • 1 tbsp of encurtido for each taco
  • 1 tbsp of pico de gallo for each taco (We call it chismol in Honduras)

Instructions
 

Toppings & Salsa

  • Beforehand it's important to have encurtido and chismol (pico de gallo) ready. Particularly encurtido, since it takes some time. For instance, my encurtido recipe is at its best after two days of marinating.
  • To start, disinfect the cabbage. To do so, grate or slice the cabbage into thin slices. Then, soak it into 1 liter of water with a teaspoon of baking soda for 15 minutes. When the cabbage is ready, drain it thoroughly.
  • In your food processor put the mayonnaise, avocado, cilantro, scallions, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic powder, chile chipotle, salt, and pepper. Blend until you have a creamy but slightly chunky consistency.

Fried Fish filling

  • Let's start with the batter. First, sift flour and add baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix everything thoroughly.
  • Add one egg, mustard, and beer. Then mix the ingredients until you have a soft and consistent batter.
  • Heat oil in a stockpot.
  • In the meantime, cut the fish fillets in smaller rectangles, like fish fingers.
  • Soak the fillets in the batter. Dip them well, so they are completely covered.
  • Use a bit of batter to test the oil temperature. When the oil is hot enough, start to fry the fish.
  • Putting the fish inside hot oil requires extra care. I use tongs to avoid burning my hands. Avoid dropping or throwing the fish in the oil, since it will splash.
  • Don't overfill the stockpot as you won't have enough space to move the fish inside the oil. A stainless steel drainer is useful to remove floating bits of batter. Remove them carefully. If they burn, they will add an unpleasant burnt taste to the fish.
  • After 7 to 9 minutes the fish will be ready. Let the fish drying on paper towels for a few minutes.

Building your Fish Tacos

  • While the fish is drying, you can warm your tortillas in a hot pan. Don't toast the tortillas, as they will break when you fold them.
  • Everything is set now! To build the tacos put the fish first. Then add the toppings: cabbage, chismol (pico de gallo), and encurtido. Finish with the delicious salsita and a hint of lemon juice.
  • Enjoy your Ensenada-Style Fish Tacos!

Video

Notes

For the perfect fish tacos, be sure to have enough encurtido and chismol (pico de gallo) beforehand.
My encurtido recipe takes between 1 and 2 days in the fridge.
Keyword Baja California, Ensenada, Tacos de Pescado

If you try this fish tacos recipe, let me know in the comments below how did you like it!

And remember, you can check my encurtido recipe here and find more about our road trips here.

Picture of Ensenada-style tacos from above served in a pot

Related posts:

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Vegetarian Meatballs
Mini Pumpkin Cake Recipe

Filed Under: Hispanic food, Latino, Recipes Tagged With: hispanic food, mexican food, Mexican recipes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




I’m María, a.k.a. “La Cooquette”, and I’m obsessed with food! Try with me fun, easy & creative recipes as well as yummy Latino staples! I’m also a new mom excited to share my parenting adventure.

read more

Search

Subscribe!

For weekly recipe videos and food & travel adventures – in English y español!

 

Videos en español:

English videos:

Popular Posts

  • La Cooquette smiling showing the Honduran pollo con tajadas Pollo Chuco | Delicious Honduran Fried Chicken with Plantains
  • La Cooquette proud of her fish tacos Ensenada Style Fish Tacos Recipe [Tacos de Pescado]
  • Honduran-nacatamales-knorr-holidays-lacooquette- Honduran Nacatamales: perfect for the holidays!
  • Honduran Heritage - Hispanic Heritage Month - La Cooquette - baleadas Authentic Honduran Baleada Recipe

Instagram

Follow on Instagram
  • Homepage
  • Recipes
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • About Me

Amazon Associates Disclaimer: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Copyright © 2025 La Cooquette · Site by Designer Blogs

  • English