Fish and Chips
Fish and Chips is our favorite take-away when we lived in the U.K. You can have it for lunch, dinner or even as snack. I remember this shop near the tube (London subway) where I buy this. They would serve it wrapped in newspaper and you drizzle it with malt vinegar. Ah Yes! that was how I recall it. So when we miss the U.K. we also miss Fish and Chips. When we moved to France, we would crave for it and we didn’t know where to get hold of them. That’s why I made my home made recipe, and I’d heat up my pan and cook up some of the Brit’s staple!
This British take-away (or eat-in) is made up of fish (typically cod or haddock) that is battered and fried, then served alongside thick fries. It’s certainly a lot of fried food, but we like it alongside lemon wedges some peas and tangy tartar sauce.
The secret ingredient is always LOVE
Tips for Fish and Chips
- Batter should be cold, cold batter prevents the flour to absorb the oil too much and therefore resulting in a light crispy batter.
Fish and Chips
Ingredients
- 6 pieces cod fish fillet
- salt (for seasoning cod fish)
- 3 cups cooking oil
- 1 cup flour (for dusting/dredging the cod)
- 1 lemon (cut in wedges)
- 1 cup green peas (boiled, for serving)
- tartar sauce (store bought, for serving)
For Batter
- 1 ½ cup flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1 ½ cup beer (or sparkling water)
For Chips/Fries
- 3-4 medium potatoes (Peeled, Cut into batons approx. 2 in. long)
- cooking oil (for frying)
- salt (for seasoning)
Instructions
Prepare the batter
- In a bowl. Pour in ½ cup rice flour, 1 ½ cup flour and 1 ½ cup beer. Whisk until well incorporated and a smooth batter forms. Put in the fridge for an hour to cool.
For making the Chips/Fries
- Peel the potatoes and cut lengthwise into roughly 2 inches in slices. Cut each slice into fairly thick chips and rinse in cold water to remove excess starch.
- Heat a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan half-full of cooking oil to 130C. Alternatively, use an electric deep-fat fryer heated to 130C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
- Using a slotted spoon, slowly lower half the chips into the hot oil. Fry for ten minutes, or until cooked through but not browned. Remove the chips from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on plenty of kitchen paper. Repeat the process with the remaining chips.
- When ready to serve, reheat the oil to 190C. Gently lower all the par-cooked chips gently into the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden-brown. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt to season.
Frying the Fish
- Heat cooking oil in a deep frying pan over high heat. Prepare a plate and pour 1 cup of flour. Season the cod fish fillets with salt and dredge in flour.
- Dip the fish pieces into the batter, then pick-up the cod on the tail end and let some batter drip a bit then slowly drop into the fryer. Fry until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer to a prepared baking rack to drain. Season immediately with salt.
- Divide the fish and chips between plates and serve with tartar sauce, lemon wedges and green peas. Bon Appetit!
