Fish tacos are corn or flour tortillas topped with grilled or fried fish and a creamy sauce, and they originated in Baja California, Mexico (Wikipedia). This version builds them from Australian ingredients: beer-battered barramundi, a lime slaw, mango, avocado and an aioli seasoned with ground lemon myrtle leaf.
Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 4 (8 tacos)
Difficulty: Medium | Calories: ~870 per serving
What Makes These Fish Tacos Australian?
Only the shopping list. Fish tacos originated in Baja California. In the United States, the Rubio’s fast-food chain first popularised them, and in California a regional variation tops them with cabbage and a slaw dressing (Wikipedia). Nothing on this page is an old Australian tradition. The recipe keeps the Baja shape and swaps in barramundi and lemon myrtle.
Barramundi already turns up in fried fish taco recipes. Marion Grasby suggests snapper, barramundi or cod for her crispy fried fish tacos (Marion’s Kitchen). On SBS’s The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, Elise Kellond-Knight batters barramundi or basa in chilled beer for her spicy tacos (SBS Food). Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats writes in her video description that fried fish tacos from beachside shacks were a highlight of her trip to Mexico, and she had to recreate them back home (RecipeTin Eats).
Lemon myrtle is Backhousia citriodora, a flowering plant native to the subtropical rainforests of central and south-eastern Queensland. Its leaves are glossy green and lance-shaped, 5 to 12 cm long, and the crushed leaves smell strongly of lemon. Aboriginal Australians have long used lemon myrtle in cooking and as a healing plant. The leaf is often used as dried flakes, and whole leaves go in with baked fish (Wikipedia). Ground fine, the dried leaf disappears into the mayonnaise, so the aioli stays pale with tiny green flecks.
What Goes on Top Instead of Pico de Gallo?
Mango. The Baja version pairs the fish with lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo and a sour cream or citrus-mayonnaise sauce (Wikipedia). This recipe keeps the cabbage and the mayonnaise sauce but drops the pico de gallo. Diced mango takes its place and brings sweetness against the salty batter, while the lime-dressed slaw supplies acid and crunch.
The cooks above made their own trades. Marion Grasby tops her tacos with finely sliced cabbage, avocado, pickled red onion and coriander. Her tangy mayo is just mayonnaise, lime juice and salt, and her Coconut Sriracha or another hot sauce goes on too (Marion’s Kitchen). Kellond-Knight’s slaw on SBS mixes red cabbage, coriander and parsley with fennel pickled in apple cider vinegar for 2 to 24 hours. A salsa verde and chipotle mayonnaise finish her tacos (SBS Food).
Build each taco in the same order: slaw, fish, fruit, then sauce. The slaw sits between the warm tortilla and the hot fish, and the aioli goes on last, over the crust rather than under it. Pickled jalapeños stay optional; put the bowl on the table and let everyone add their own heat.
How Do You Keep the Beer Batter Crisp?
Keep the batter cold and the oil hot. Nagi Maehashi explains that the shock of ice-cold batter hitting hot oil makes it super-crispy, so her beer goes in the fridge for 2 hours or more. She heats the oil to 190°C/375°F; hot oil is what stops the fish ending up soggy and greasy. She also tells you not to crowd the pot and to fry in batches (RecipeTin Eats).
Marion Grasby goes a step further. Her dry mix of flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt spends a minimum of 15 minutes in the freezer. The beer and fish stay in the fridge until the last minute (Marion’s Kitchen). Kellond-Knight’s tip works the other way round: dip the fish, then chill it on a plate so the cold batter fries into a crisper shell (SBS Food).
Whisk as little as you can. Maehashi whisks for only 5 seconds and calls small lumps fine, even desirable; over-whisking activates the gluten and the coating loses its crispness. Any pale beer will do. Lager and pale ale are the usual choices, while stout and porter discolour and flavour the batter. You can only barely taste the beer, she says: it is mostly there to make the coating crisp and puffy (RecipeTin Eats).
Her batter mixes plain flour with rice flour, because wheat flour alone goes soggy within minutes. Cornflour (cornstarch) is her listed substitute, not quite as crispy as rice flour but still crispier than plain flour alone (RecipeTin Eats). The batter below uses cornstarch. Swap in the same weight of rice flour if you keep some.
Ingredients for Fish Tacos Australian Style
For the Lime Slaw:
- 2 cups (140 g) finely shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup (110 g) shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup (60 g) thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup (10 g) chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Lemon Myrtle Aioli:
- 1/2 cup (115 g) whole-egg mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dried lemon myrtle (or 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest)
- Pinch of salt
For the Beer-Battered Barramundi:
- 1 lb (450 g) skinless barramundi fillets
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (60 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup (240 ml) very cold lager or pale ale
- Vegetable oil for deep frying, enough to fill the pot about 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) deep
For Serving:
- 8 small flour or corn tortillas
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 1 mango, diced
- Lime wedges
- Pickled jalapeños (optional)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Lime Slaw
1Put the shredded cabbage, carrot, red onion and coriander in a large bowl. Add the lime juice and olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss with two spoons until every shred is coated. Cover the bowl and chill the slaw in the fridge, 15 minutes or longer, while the aioli and fish come together. The lime softens the cabbage a little but leaves it crunchy.
Step 2: Make the Lemon Myrtle Aioli
2Whisk the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, lemon myrtle and a pinch of salt in a small bowl until smooth. Taste and add more lemon myrtle a pinch at a time if you want a stronger lemon scent. Lemon zest gives a brighter but plainer citrus note if you can’t find the ground leaf. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
Step 3: Cut the Fish and Heat the Oil
3Pat the barramundi dry with paper towels. If a fillet is thicker than 1 1/4 inches (3 cm), slice it in half horizontally; otherwise the middle may still be raw when the batter turns golden. Cut the fish into strips about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide and 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. Set a large, heavy pot holding about 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) of oil on medium-high heat and wait for it to reach 375°F (190°C). Set a wire rack over a tray beside the stove.
Step 4: Batter and Fry the Barramundi
4Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour in the cold beer and whisk for a few seconds, only until no dry flour remains; small lumps are fine. Dip 4 or 5 fish strips, let the excess drip off and lower them into the oil, away from you. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes until deep golden and crisp and the thickest strip reads 158°F (70°C) in the middle. Drain on the wire rack and sprinkle with a little salt. Let the oil come back to 375°F (190°C) before the next batch.
Step 5: Warm the Tortillas
5Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Warm each tortilla for about 30 seconds per side until soft and pliable with a few charred spots. Stack the warm tortillas in a clean tea towel. The fried fish keeps its crunch on the rack while you work through the stack.
Step 6: Assemble the Fish Tacos
6Lay a small handful of slaw on each tortilla and top with two pieces of fish, a few avocado slices and some diced mango. Drizzle with the lemon myrtle aioli and serve straight away with lime wedges and pickled jalapeños on the side. Each person gets two tacos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What fish can I use instead of barramundi?
Any firm white fish fillet without skin. Marion Grasby lists snapper, barramundi or cod for her fish tacos (Marion’s Kitchen). Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats fries virtually any white fillet, flathead being her favourite, but avoids meaty fish that dry out, such as swordfish and tuna, and thin, delicate fish such as flounder and sole (RecipeTin Eats). Elise Kellond-Knight’s tacos on SBS use barramundi or basa (SBS Food).
How do you know when the fish is cooked?
Check it with a food thermometer; Health Canada lists 70°C (158°F) as the safe internal cooking temperature for fish. Push the probe through the thickest part, all the way to the middle (Health Canada). Marion Grasby fries her pieces for 3 to 4 minutes, until each one is golden, crisp and cooked through (Marion’s Kitchen). If the batter is dark before the centre is done, lower the heat a little for the next batch.
Can you make fish tacos ahead of time?
Make the slaw and aioli earlier in the day, but fry the fish close to serving. Maehashi’s beer-battered fish stays crispy for 15 to 20 minutes, even after it goes cold. For a crowd she fries it twice. The first fry lasts 2 1/2 minutes, until golden but not deep golden. The second, at 200°C/390°F for 1 minute, reheats the fish and darkens the batter (RecipeTin Eats). Warm the tortillas while the last batch drains.
Is the video recipe the same as this one?
No, but it is close. The video is Nagi Maehashi’s Baja fish tacos. Its description says she uses beer in the batter for extra crispiness and serves the tacos with gently tangy cabbage and Avocado Crema, and that the recipe is in her “Dinner” cookbook (RecipeTin Eats). This page keeps the beer batter and the cabbage, names barramundi as the fish, adds carrot and mango, and swaps the crema for lemon myrtle aioli.
Sources
- Taco, Wikipedia
- Backhousia citriodora, Wikipedia
- Crispy Beer Battered Fish, Nagi Maehashi, RecipeTin Eats, January 2021 (updated June 2025)
- Crispy Fried Fish Tacos, Marion Grasby, Marion’s Kitchen, August 2021 (updated July 2025)
- Spicy beer battered fish tacos with zingy slaw, The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, SBS Food, July 2026
- Safe cooking temperatures, Health Canada, June 2024
- Baja Fish Tacos, RecipeTin Eats, YouTube, October 2022
