email this pageSurfers and food-savvy travelers to Mexico have long considered fish tacos an essential part of the Baja experience. Ralph Rubio is generally credited for bringing fish tacos from San Felipe to the United States, although rival fish-taco center Ensenada claims their port town is the humble delicacy’s true home.
Back in the 1970s, Rubio took a spring break trip along the Sea of Cortez with some buddies. After living on cerveza (beer) and fish tacos from local stands, he returned home and began experimenting with various fish, batter mixes and sauces. Eventually he got the recipe right and, with the help of his father, opened the first Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill in 1983 in San Diego. Now, Rubio’s uses more than 2.2 million pounds of fish every year at 150 locations for “World Famous Fish Tacos,” and San Diego’s signature dish is even served at Jack Murphy Stadium during Padres baseball games.
The fish-taco mogul says that beer batter is the key to making a great fish taco, because “that’s where you get a lot of flavor—garlic, oregano, dry mustard and beer.” Plus you need a really fresh, stone-ground corn tortilla. “To make it perfect, you need a squeeze of fresh lime juice to bring all the flavors together,” he adds. Don’t even think about using iceberg lettuce instead of cabbage, although frozen fish sticks can suffice in a pinch. Like most tacos, this one can be messy to eat, so have plenty of napkins around. “And an ice cold Corona makes any fish taco taste even better,” says Rubio.
Baja-Style Fish Tacos
3 cups diced tomatoes
½ cup diced white onion
2 medium jalapeños, seeded and minced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
White Sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup plain low-lat yogurt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Beer Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup beer
Tacos:
1½ pounds cod, tilapia or similar white fish fillets
Vegetable oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 fresh stone-ground corn tortillas
3 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into slices
3 limes, cut into wedges
2. For the white sauce, mix ingredients until blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. For the beer batter, mix flour with salt, oregano, dry mustard, garlic salt and pepper. Using a whisk, stir beer into flour mixture until blended.
4. For the tacos, rinse fish and pat dry. Cut fillets into twelve 1-by-5-inch pieces. Pour vegetable oil into a deep skillet to a depth of 3 to 4 inches. Heat to 350F.
5. Place ¼ cup flour in shallow bowl. Coat fish with flour. Dip fish into batter and coat all sides. Place several pieces of fish in a single layer in hot oil. Cook about 4 minutes or until batter is crispy and golden brown. Repeat with remaining fish.
6. Heat corn tortillas lightly in a skillet until soft and hot.
7. To assemble, layer a fish fillet, white sauce, salsa, avocado and cabbage on each tortilla. Top with a squeeze of lime. Fold tortilla over to serve. Serves 6.
Recipe by Charyn Pfeuffer, "Relish the American Table," Oct. 29, 2006.
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