Spicie Foodie ™

Healthy, Fresh, and Delicious Recipes to Spice up Your Kitchen ™

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • My Books
    • Yummy Pics, Food Photography for Bloggers
    • An Epiphany of the Senses Cookbook
    • Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook
  • Press
  • Photography
    • Tutorials
    • Food Photography Gear
  • Faves
  • YBR
  • Store
  • Copyright
  • Sponsor

Pescadillas de Atun or Fried Tuna Tacos (with Video Instructions)

June 29, 2016 by Nancy Lopez-McHugh 15 Comments

Go on watch the video below to see how these pescadillas come together. Enjoy or buen provecho amigos!

Chances are that a majority of you have never heard of this Mexican dish — I actually only had them for the first time after we moved back to Mexico. The first time I saw them on a menu was in the Riviera Maya and since then I’ve eaten them in many local restaurants here in Playa del Carmen. Each time they have been amazing and each restaurant had their own unique version of pescadillas.

The best way that I can translate the name of these crunchy delights is fried fish (in the case of this recipe, tuna) tacos. I did some research in Mexican recipe books and websites to see if there were any other translations, and the only one that I saw was as fish quesadillas. But I don’t feel that that name opens itself up for some confusions, hence why I choose to call them fried tacos. Really once you taste them you won’t be as concerned about the name but more about when the next bite into your mouth is coming — they are amazing tasting!  (Psst, just don’t call them “hard shell tacos”. :p )

Pescadillas de Atun or Fried Tuna Tacos: A step-by-step recipe guide for making these crispy savoury tuna #tacos. They are perfect as an appetiser or a small and light meal for two.

Locally we use fresh tuna (or dorado or mahi-mahi) when making pescadillas, but you can use just about any firm fish that you have locally available. I took the recipe one step further to make it even easier to prepare than it already is. In this version I am showing you how to make pescadillas with a simple can of tuna. You are going to love how easy it is to prepare them but you’ll be blow away at the robust savoury, spicy, crunchy, light and fresh flavours that are going to explode in your mouth. These make a fantastic appetiser or you can serve as a light meal for two people — it’s perfect for hot days with an ice cold beer or tall glass of water!

Pescadillas de Atun or Fried Tuna Tacos: A step-by-step recipe guide for making these crispy savoury tuna #tacos. They are perfect as an appetiser or a small and light meal for two.

(Watch the recipe video above and print the recipe below.)

5.0 from 1 reviews
Pescadillas de Atun or Fried Tuna Tacos
 
Print
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
40 mins
 
A step-by-step recipe guide for making these crispy savoury tuna tacos. They are perfect as an appetiser or a small and light meal for two.
Author: SpicieFoodie.com & Nancy Lopez-McHugh
Recipe type: Appetiser, lunch, dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 9 to 10
Ingredients
Ingredients:
  • one large can of tuna in water, drained
  • a small piece of white onion, roughly chopped into small pieces (amount is to taste)
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly minced
  • 2 Serrano chiles, roughly chopped (add less and remove the seeds and veins for a milder version)
  • 1 Roma tomato, chopped into small pieces
  • a large pinch of fine sea salt
  • a pinch of ground black pepper, optional
  • 9 to 10 corn tortillas, slightly warm*
  • 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
  • ½ cup of vegetable oil for frying
Condiments:
  • green salsa or salsa verde (try this recipe or this one) or salsa of choice
  • slices of purple onion, optional
  • crema fresca or sour cream
  • lime wedges
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a small pan, and once hot add the onion and sauté for a couple of minutes until it softens up. Next add the chilies and sauté for another few minutes before adding the garlic and the tomatoes, sauté for five minutes before adding the drained tuna. Mix the tuna into the vegetables, sprinkle in the salt and pepper and give the ingredients a good stir. Allow to cook for another 8 minutes or until nearly all off the liquid has been absorbed or that tomatoes are broken down a bit. Turn off heat and set aside to cool slightly.
  2. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pan or cast iron pan. While the oil is heating we can get the pescadillas assembled. Wrap tortillas in a clean kitchen cloth and microwave just for a couple of seconds — the intention is to warm the tortillas up so that they become soft and bendable. (Do not skip this step because if you do the tortillas will break when you try to assemble the pescadillas.) Take one warm corn tortilla then place about one tablespoon of the tuna mixture and place it in the bottom half of the tortilla. Gently fold it in half, creating a pocket or half moon. Weave a toothpick through the tortilla to hold the shape. Set aside and continue to assemble more pescadillas or until all of the filling has been used up.
  3. Check on the oil and it will be ready or hot enough once it reaches a temperature of 370°F, or if you don’t have a thermometer you can stick a wooden spoon into the pan and once you can see bubbles forming around the submerged spoon area, then the oil is ready to go. Gently place the pescadillas in the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and place on top of a place lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil. It is important not to crowd the pescadillas in the frying pan, work in batches and be careful not to burn yourself.
  4. Serve topped with onion, some extra jalapeños on the side, lime wedges and some salsa verde and sour cream on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
Watch the video for a visual preparation guide. http://bit.ly/296to3V
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
3.4.3177

 

Pescadillas de Atun or Fried Tuna Tacos: A step-by-step recipe guide for making these crispy savoury tuna #tacos. They are perfect as an appetiser or a small and light meal for two.

Music credit: Hot salsa trip (arsonist) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

 

Filed Under: Fish/Seafood, Mexican, Tacos

« Easy Shrimp Pad Thai Recipe
Condiment Hacks to Spice up Your Everyday Meals »

Comments

  1. Rosa says

    June 29, 2016 at 06:37

    They look delicious! Cool video.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      June 29, 2016 at 11:29

      Thanks so much, Rosa. I think you could find all the ingredients for this one. :)

      Reply
  2. Frank says

    June 29, 2016 at 07:10

    I know someone who would love these pescadillas… me! I find the fish tacos I can find here in the US not very satisfying (and probably not very authentic) but this is a whole ‘nother story. Will definitely try this soon!

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      June 29, 2016 at 11:31

      I never ate fish tacos in the States, but have seen pictures online of different restaurants and they don’t look too authentic. Hehe. These are completely different and they are so good, I think you’ll love them Frank. Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Frank says

    June 29, 2016 at 07:12

    PS: The video is really well done. Brava!

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      June 29, 2016 at 11:31

      Grazie! I’m still learning but it’s so much fun. :)

      Reply
  4. Catherine says

    June 29, 2016 at 10:40

    These tuna tacos look absolutely delicious! Have a beautiful weekend. xo

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      June 29, 2016 at 11:31

      Thank you Catherine and you too! :)

      Reply
  5. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    July 1, 2016 at 06:55

    They sound and look great!

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      July 1, 2016 at 13:26

      Thank you Angie!

      Reply
  6. Rahul @samosastreet.com says

    July 1, 2016 at 13:09

    Give me your tacos, Seriously. This might become a summer staple in my house…

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      July 1, 2016 at 13:25

      Hehe, enjoy they are so good and best of all super easy to prepare. Thanks Rahul!

      Reply
  7. Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says

    July 1, 2016 at 17:39

    Mmm.. I enjoyed the video and what a unique taco. Yum!

    Reply
  8. John/Kitchen Riffs says

    July 5, 2016 at 19:27

    Fun dish! And loaded with flavor. Haven’t had anything quite like this — love discovering new dishes. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Spicie Foodie says

      July 6, 2016 at 20:47

      I hope you can give them a try sometime John. It isn’t a dish that is too well know outside of Mexico. Enjoy! :)

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

—

Cooking Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXes5qwtAuk

Learn Food Photography From Me

Yummy Pics: A Food Blogger's Guide to Better Photos, Photography eBook by Spicie Foodie

My Foodie Prose

Search Spicie Foodie

Categories

Recommended Books

   

Official Blogger

Official Meatless Monday Blogger

…

cool kitchen gadgets

cool kitchen gadgets

Free Photography Tutorials

Food Photography, Tutorials,Spicie Foodie, spicy food,how to photograph food, food blogger photography, shooting food, artificial light, natural light

Super Deals!

Help support Spicie Foodie by placing your Amazon purchases through the banner link. Thank you for your support!  

As Seen On

Cooking Videos for Your Website

Recipe Video Services

Copyright © 2009 - 2021 · Nancy Lopez-McHugh and Spicie Foodie | Theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 · Tasteful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in