SOFT FISH TACOS

Soft Fish Tacos image

Yield Makes 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

Sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup crema mexicana*
Batter and fish
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 cup dark beer, room temperature
13/4 pounds halibut, cut into 5x3/4-inch strips
1 lime, halved crosswise
12 white corn tortillas
Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage
2 large tomatoes, chopped
Lime wedges
Bottled hot pepper sauce

Steps:

For sauce:
Mix all ingredients in bowl; season with salt and pepper.
For batter and fish:
Whisk flour, salt, and pepper in bowl; pour in beer, whisking until batter is smooth. Let stand 15 minutes.
Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Squeeze some lime juice over each strip. Let stand 15 minutes. Mix fish into batter.
Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat skillet over medium heat. Stack 2 tortillas. Sprinkle top with water. Place in skillet, wet side down. Heat 1 minute. Sprinkle top with water. Turn stack over; heat 1 minute. Transfer stack to large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Repeat. Enclose tortillas in foil. Place in oven.
Pour oil into medium skillet to reach depth of 1 inch. Attach deep-fry thermometer; heat oil to 350°F. Slide 4 fish strips into oil. Fry until golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer fish to paper-towel-lined baking sheet; place in oven. Repeat.
Fill each warm tortilla with 2 fish strips. Top with sauce, cabbage, tomato, squeeze of lime, and dash of hot pepper sauce.
*Cultured Mexican cream with a slightly nutty flavor and consistency of thin sour cream.