$$ · filleting, skinning, and trimming whole fish
Fillet a whole fish without wasting half of it
Following the bones and contours of whole fish with a narrow, flexible blade.
Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Flexible Fillet Knife
AI-generated illustration of the dish
Mahi-mahi, called dorado everywhere from Ensenada to Lima, cut into fingers, dipped in a light beer batter and fried, then folded into corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, lime crema and salsa. The fish taco of Baja California's street stands, and the reason dorado is the taco fish in Mexico.
Serves 4Prep 20 minCook 15 min
Can't find Dorado?
- Espadarte — Both are firm ocean fish suited to grilling as steaks — mahi-mahi is moister and sweeter, swordfish is drier and more intensely flavored.
- Wahoo — Both are fast-swimming tropical pelagic fish prized by sportfishers and suited to grilling and ceviches — wahoo is firmer and more delicate, mahi-mahi is moister and sweeter.
Ingredients & method
Ingredients
- 600 g skinless dorado (mahi-mahi) fillet, cut into fingers about 2 cm thick and 8 cm long
- Salt
- 150 g plain flour, plus 3 tablespoons for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 250 ml cold Mexican lager, or sparkling water
- Neutral oil for frying, about 1 litre
- 12 small corn tortillas
- ¼ green cabbage, very finely shredded
- For the crema: 60 g mayonnaise, 60 ml Mexican crema or sour cream, juice of 1 lime
- To serve: pico de gallo or salsa roja, lime wedges, sliced radish (optional)
Method
- 1Shred the cabbage and keep it cold. Stir the mayonnaise, crema and lime juice together with a pinch of salt; thin with a spoonful of water if it is too thick to drizzle.
- 2Pat the fish very dry and season it lightly with salt.
- 3Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180 °C (350 °F). It should come at least 4 cm up the side.
- 4Just before frying, whisk the flour, baking powder, a teaspoon of salt, the mustard and oregano with the cold beer until smooth, about the thickness of pancake batter. A few lumps are fine.
- 5Dust a few fish pieces in the extra flour, dip them in the batter, let the excess drip off, and lower them into the oil away from you.
- 6Fry 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on a rack and salt them straight away. Fry in batches so the oil stays hot.
- 7Warm the tortillas on a dry pan, two stacked per taco if they are thin.
- 8Fill each taco with a piece of fish, a handful of cabbage, the crema and salsa, and serve with lime.
Cook this well
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Chef's tip
Most mahi-mahi in the US is sold frozen: thaw it in the fridge and dry it well, or the batter slides off. For grilled tacos instead, brush the fillets with oil, season with salt and chile powder, and grill 3 to 4 minutes a side over high heat before flaking. Not to be confused with the Argentine freshwater dorado, a different fish. Any firm white fish works here: snapper, cod, halibut or tilapia.
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