Fish and chips paired with a nice cold drink make for a perfect Friday night treat.
ABOUT FISH AND CHIPS
Classic fish and chips! It’s often thought of as Britain’s national food, but the components of the dish are said to have been brought over by immigrants and combined in England. Over time, the dish became extremely popular and now many restaurants serve this. However, I have a very strong “if I can make it at home, why buy it” mentality, so here we are. Luckily fish and chips is super easy to make and can be adjusted for your own taste! These fry up quickly so they’re not greasy! Which unfortunately makes it dangerously easy to eat too much.
COMPONENTS OF FISH AND CHIPS
- ☆ Fish: Fried white fish filets coated in a light and crispy batter. Good quality fish makes good quality fish and chips! 🙂
- ☆ Chips: The chips of the “fish and chips” but I call them fries 🤭 teehee. Fried potatoes are the certified best match for fried chips.
- ☆ Condiments: Typically served with tartar sauce or vinegar, but I like ketchup for the chips! Use any you like!
- ☆ Beverage: Optional drink of choice hehe. People like to enjoy fish and chips with beer or white wine, but for my friends who don’t drink alcohol, any fizzy drink goes well, too! A nice acidic lemonade would also be refreshing for cutting through the salty and hearty fish and chips
INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)
This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!
- ☆ White fish
- Typically people make fish and chips with cod, but other white fish work as well! Thicker types of fish filets work well with this batter, so haddock or pollock work great and have a good texture and flavor.
- ☆ Corn starch
- Corn starch makes fried batters crispier and lighter while helping with the browning.
- ☆ Flour
- Flour provides structure and thickness to the batter, allowing it to better adhere to the fish. The thickness balances the crumbly texture of the cornstarch, resulting in a coating that is crisp on the exterior, but also light and tender inside, resulting in the perfect crunch.
- ☆ Beer
- The carbonated nature of the beer makes the batter slightly acidic which helps to inhibit the development of gluten. Beer is also alcoholic in nature, so the moisture of the batter evaporates quicker compared to a batter made with just water. This means that the fish would cook faster and spend less time in the oil, preventing the flour from absorbing too much oil and becoming soggy. Additionally the carbon dioxide in the beer expands as the batter comes into contact with the hot oil, creating crispy pockets of air in the coating. HOWEVER! If you can’t or don’t want to use beer, you can use club soda. It is also carbonated meaning it also contains CO2 and is slightly acidic, so it should work just as well 🙂
- ☆ Potatoes
- You can use any kind of potato you like, but the most popular choices are russet, Idaho, and Yukon gold. I personally used russet potatoes.
TIPS FOR MAKING FISH AND CHIPS
- ☆ Cold batter is more favorable to frying, so keep prepared batter in the fridge until you’re just about to use it. Cold temperatures inhibit the development of gluten, giving us a lighter, crispier coating.
- ☆ People like to sprinkle salt over food that is hot and straight out of the frying oil. I’ve heard that this helps draw out moisture, helping the food stay crispy, but this also helps to add seasoning. The salt will adhere to the hot and moist exterior of the foods, distributing the flavor more evenly. Keep this in mind when adding salt to the batter and flour!
MORE SEAFOOD RECIPES! ♡
- ☆ Aji Fry
- ☆ Sea-bass pie
- ☆ Clam chowder
If you recreate this Fish and Chips recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!
Fish and Chips
Fish and chips paired with a nice cold drink make for a perfect Friday night treat.
Ingredients
- 2 cod filets
- 30 g cornstarch
- 30 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 40 ml water
- 40 ml beer or club soda
- Potato amount up to you
- Neutral oil for frying
- Ketchup and tartar sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Start by peeling your potatoes and cutting them into spears. Soak the cut pieces in a bowl of water to prevent browning while you cut the remaining potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes and add to a pot of water over high heat. Bring the water and potatoes to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes again and lay them onto a paper towel lined plate to dry completely until ready to fry.
- Next, prepare the fish. Make sure to thoroughly pat them dry. Separate about a teaspoon of the flour and lightly season with salt and pepper. We will use this to coat the fish before dipping it into the batter to help it stick. Set aside the floured filets while we make the batter.
- In a bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Add in the water and beer or club soda and mix until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge while you heat up the oil.
- Pour a good amount of oil in a pot suitable for frying. The amount you use will vary depending on the size of the pot. Heat the oil to 175°C/350°F and begin with frying the chips. This will be the first fry of the chips, so don’t brown them. Cook the chips for about 3 minutes then remove from the oil and let them drain on a cooling rack.
- After you’ve cooked all the chips, it’s time to fry the fish. Bring out the batter from the refrigerator and dip the coated fish filets into the batter. Let the excess batter drip off before carefully lowering into the frying oil. Cook until the batter is crispy and golden then drain onto the wire rack as well. Lightly sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.
- Now heat the oil to 205°C/400°F for the second fry of the chips. Double fry the chips in batches making sure the temperature floats around the initial temperature. Fry until they just turn golden, about 5 minutes, and remove and drain making sure to season with salt while fresh from the fryer. Fried food is best served hot and fresh, so quickly plate to serve and the fish and chips are done! 完成です！