Fish tacos are a really under rated dish here in the UK, if you’ve never had them what the hell have you been doing?! These fish tacos however are like nothing else, the 7up batter is a work of genius (if I do say so myself!)
I stumbled across this tasty batter quite by accident! I was making some beer battered fish but in typical style totally forgot to buy the beer. There was some 7up in the fridge so I used that as a substitute, 7up batter was born and it worked wonderfully! The 7up batter was crispy and light with a sweetness and hint of lemon and lime. It didn’t work too well accompanied with mushy peas and chunky chips but i knew the flavours would be perfect in some Mexican fish tacos.
In this recipe I used Basa fillets, a fish from Asia but farmed here in the UK so it makes a great sustainable alternative to Cod. You of course can use Cod in this recipe, or any other white fleshed fish, but if you haven’t tried Basa before then do give it a go.
There are a really good balance of flavours in these fish tacos. A creamy avocado base, a sweet and spicy 7up batter topped with an acidic red cabbage dressing and the freshness of cucumber and coriander.
If you like these tacos, be sure to check out my Chilli Beef Nachos!
These fresh and light fish tacos will be a real crowd pleaser!
- 4 basa fillets
- vegetable oil
- 200 g self raising flour
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 egg beaten
- 375 ml 7up
- 1 small red cabbage finely sliced
- 1 green chilli finely sliced
- 50 ml white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp salt
- zest of 1 lime
- 5 tbsp mayonaise
- 5 tbsp sour cream
- 1 cucumber diced
- 1 red onion diced
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp finely chopped corriander
- 2 ripe avocados
- juice 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper
- 8 soft corn tacos
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Whisk in the beaten egg and then bit by bit whisk in the 7up until you have a nice smooth batter. Pop in the fridge until ready to use.
- For the red cabbage, mix all the ingredients together well and pop in the fridge. Same for the cucumber salsa. Really nothing tricky about knocking these up!
- Peel the avocados into a bowl and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash together. Add the mayo and sour cream and mix well. Put in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Put a large saucepan on a high heat on the hob and pour in about 1cm of vegetable oil. You need to get the oil really hot, so could take 5-10 mins.
- Take the batter out of the fridge and cut each Basa fillet in half length ways.
- Once the oil is really hot, dip a fillet in to the batter to coat it and carefully lay into the frying pan. They only take about 3 minutes on each side to cook through and get a crispy batter. Be careful when turning the fish and only do two in the pan at a time. Put the fish on some kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil.
- Warm the tacos through according to packet instructions (I was going to make my own, but sometimes life is too short!).
- Put a spoonful of the avocado mix on to each taco, top with a piece of fish and the cabbage and cucumber mixes.
13 Comments
Marlee
July 18, 2018 at 10:33 pm7-Up is perfect for making the perfect fried fish taco!!!
cakespy
November 25, 2017 at 1:01 pmWow, these look incredible. Fish tacos are often underwhelming to me (living outside of the “Fish taco belt” good ones are harder to come by) but I know that when homemade or purchased from a great place they are a thing of beauty. THESE are a thing of beauty!
Slow The Cook Down
November 25, 2017 at 4:52 pmAh thank you!! It’s all about that crispy batter, I hate getting them when they aren’t nice and crispy!
ijustmakesandwiches
March 27, 2017 at 2:13 pmI love this idea! Fish tacos are my favorite by far. I tried a Coke batter once and it was fantastic but 7-Up would be equally delicious I think!
Slow The Cook Down
March 27, 2017 at 2:48 pmCoke?! That is interesting…I may give it a go! 7up gives it a nice freshness that works really well with the fish
pinchmeimeating
March 26, 2017 at 10:34 pmI never had fish tacos until a few years ago! My friends in Tucson thought I was nuts. Now I love them, especially with nice crunchy slaw like these!
Slow The Cook Down
March 27, 2017 at 6:31 amThey are THE BEST! You don’t get them much in the UK, we are really missing out!
patrick @alldayieat.com
November 17, 2016 at 6:32 pmgreat pics. have never seen a sweet soda for batter before!!
bdaunter@hotmail.co.uk
November 18, 2016 at 3:05 pmThanks Patrick! The sweetness really works withe fish, it’s pretty subtle but gives it that extra something!
Karly
October 3, 2016 at 3:57 pmLove me some fish tacos- so glad you’re embracing them across the pond! 🙂 These look perfectly crispy and so tasty!
bdaunter@hotmail.co.uk
October 4, 2016 at 9:09 amThanks Karly! They are starting to become more popular over here, but slowly! I have no idea why they’ve taken so long to catch on!
All Thyme Favourites
October 2, 2016 at 4:31 pmThese look absolutely wonderful!
bdaunter@hotmail.co.uk
October 2, 2016 at 4:33 pmThank you! It’s one of those recipes I’ve been thinking about for ages! Super tasty!