Chef Lupita
Birria Tacos with Consome
Jalisco's goat birria, born around Cocula and carried into Guadalajara's markets, slow-braised in ancho, guajillo, cascabel, and chile de arbol, then tucked into corn tortillas crisped in its own red fat.
Culinary Explorer
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Acapulco Fried Fish Turnovers (Pescadillas)
Created by
Guerrero's beach-side pescadillas fold white fish into corn tortillas, seal the edges by hand, fry them crisp, and finish them with the green salsa every Acapulco palapa keeps ready.
Sandwiches & Wraps
Mexican
Budget Friendly
Quick Meal
Comfort Food
35 min
Active Time
30 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield12 pescadillas, 4 servings
Guerrero, Acapulco, the Costa Grande moving toward the Costa Chica. That is where these pescadillas live: at beach palapas, market fondas, and home kitchens where leftover fish from the morning becomes the afternoon meal. This is not a flour tortilla taco. Flour belongs to the north. Here the tortilla is corn, pressed thin enough to fold but sturdy enough to survive the oil.
The filling is a guiso: white fish cooked with jitomate, white onion, garlic, chile serrano, and epazote. The chile is not there to prove anything. It sharpens the fish and cuts the oil. The epazote is what makes the filling taste like a Mexican kitchen instead of a cafeteria fish pie. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They know.
I learned this version in Acapulco from a woman who sold pescadillas by the dozen out of a blue enamel tray lined with paper. She sealed each tortilla with her fingertips, no fork marks, no drama, then fried them until the edges were crisp and the center stayed tender. She served them with salsa verde made from tomatillo and chile serrano, lime halves, and a clay bowl of shredded cabbage. No cheese. No sour cream. No me vengas con atajos.
The work is small but exact. Warm the tortillas so they fold without breaking. Drain the fish guiso so the filling doesn't burst the tortilla. Fry hot enough that the corn blisters instead of drinking oil. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and Guerrero knows how to make a meal from fish, corn, and a serious green salsa.
Pescadillas are part of the Pacific coastal cooking of Guerrero, especially around Acapulco, where fried corn antojitos adapted naturally to the daily fish supply from local markets and beach landings. The form belongs to the broader Mexican family of folded and fried corn masa foods, but the fish filling marks it as coastal rather than central highland cooking. In Guerrero, pescadillas are often eaten as a budget meal because small white fish, trimmings, or leftover cooked fish can be stretched with tomato, chile, onion, and tortillas into food for many hands.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
firm white fish fillets, such as sierra, huachinango, robalo, or cod
Quantity
1 pound
kosher salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
vegetable oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons, plus 3 cups
divided, for cooking the filling and frying
white onion
Quantity
1/2 medium
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
finely chopped
ripe jitomates
Quantity
2 medium
finely chopped
fresh chile serrano
Quantity
1
finely chopped
fresh epazote
Quantity
1 tablespoon
chopped
dried Mexican oregano
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
crumbled
fresh corn tortillas
Quantity
12
5 to 6 inches wide
tomatillos
Quantity
3 cups
husked and rinsed
fresh chile serrano
Quantity
2
stemmed
small garlic clove
Quantity
1
fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
Quantity
1/4 cup
white onion
Quantity
1/4 cup
chopped
fresh lime juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
shredded green cabbage (optional)
Quantity
for serving
lime halves (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| firm white fish fillets, such as sierra, huachinango, robalo, or cod | 1 pound |
| kosher salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| vegetable oildivided, for cooking the filling and frying | 2 tablespoons, plus 3 cups |
| white onionfinely chopped | 1/2 medium |
| garlic clovesfinely chopped | 2 |
| ripe jitomatesfinely chopped | 2 medium |
| fresh chile serranofinely chopped | 1 |
| fresh epazotechopped | 1 tablespoon |
| dried Mexican oreganocrumbled | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fresh corn tortillas5 to 6 inches wide | 12 |
| tomatilloshusked and rinsed | 3 cups |
| fresh chile serranostemmed | 2 |
| small garlic clove | 1 |
| fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems | 1/4 cup |
| white onionchopped | 1/4 cup |
| fresh lime juice | 1 tablespoon |
| shredded green cabbage (optional) | for serving |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Cast iron comal for warming tortillas
- •Wide skillet for the fish guiso
- •Heavy 4-quart pot for frying
- •Kitchen thermometer
- •Blender
- •Wire rack or paper-lined tray for draining
Instructions
- 1
Poach the fish
Place the fish in a shallow skillet and add just enough water to come halfway up the fillets. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the fish flakes but is not dry. Lift it out, let it cool slightly, then flake it with your fingers. Pick out any bones. Guerrero cooks do not waste fish, but they also do not serve bones inside a fried tortilla.
- 2
Cook the guiso
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide skillet over medium. Add the chopped onion and cook until it turns translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the jitomate and chile serrano and cook until the tomato collapses and the mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the flaked fish, epazote, and Mexican oregano. Cook 3 minutes more, until the filling is moist but not wet. Taste for salt.
The filling must be dry enough to mound on a spoon. If it is loose and watery, keep cooking. Wet guiso opens the tortilla in the oil, and then you have fish floating where your pescadilla should be. - 3
Make salsa verde
Put the tomatillos and 2 serranos in a small saucepan and cover with water. Simmer 6 to 8 minutes, until the tomatillos turn olive green and soften. Drain them. Blend with the garlic, cilantro, chopped onion, lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until smooth but not dead-flat. Taste it. It should be bright, sharp, and green, with enough chile to wake up the fried corn.
- 4
Warm the tortillas
Heat a comal over medium. Warm the tortillas one by one for 15 to 20 seconds per side, just until flexible. Stack them inside a clean servilleta as you work. Cold tortillas crack. Warm tortillas listen. This is one of those small steps that decides whether you are cooking or fighting your ingredients.
- 5
Fill and seal
Lay one warm tortilla on your work surface. Spoon 2 generous tablespoons of fish filling on one half, leaving a clean border. Fold the tortilla over and press the edges firmly with your fingertips to seal. If the tortillas are fresh and warm, they will hold. Repeat with the rest. Do not overfill them. A pescadilla should close cleanly, not bulge like a suitcase.
- 6
Fry until crisp
Heat 3 cups oil in a heavy pot to 350F. Fry the pescadillas in batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until the tortillas are golden, blistered, and crisp at the edges. Keep the oil steady. Too cool and the tortillas drink oil. Too hot and the outside browns before the seal sets. Drain on a rack or paper-lined tray and salt lightly while hot.
- 7
Serve right away
Pile the pescadillas on a clay platter and bring them to the table with salsa verde, shredded cabbage, and lime halves. Spoon salsa over each one as you eat. The first bite should crack at the edge, then give you tender fish, tomato, serrano, and epazote. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Use a firm white fish from the market. In Guerrero you may see sierra, robalo, or huachinango depending on the day. Cod works outside Mexico, but it is a compromise, not an upgrade.
- •Fresh corn tortillas matter more than people think. If your tortillas are dry or supermarket-stiff, they will split. Buy from a tortilleria the same day or press your own from masa harina.
- •Do not add cheese. These are pescadillas, not quesadillas pretending to be beach food. The fish, chile serrano, epazote, and salsa verde are the point.
- •Vegetable oil is right here. This is coastal frying, fast and clean. Save the manteca de cerdo for beans, tamales, and carnitas where it belongs.
Advance Preparation
- •The fish filling can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it close to room temperature before filling the tortillas so it does not tear them.
- •The salsa verde can be made up to 24 hours ahead. Keep it refrigerated and stir before serving.
- •Do not fill the pescadillas hours ahead. The tortilla will absorb moisture from the guiso and split in the oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 360g)
Calories
545 calories
Total Fat
29 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
50 mg
Sodium
670 mg
Total Carbohydrates
48 g
Dietary Fiber
9 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
27 g
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