English-Style Fish & Chips!

Good evening, mates! Tonight we're going on the razzle and cooking up something scrummy! You might be au fait with this one, and it comes from my favourite country in the world!

Aaaaah, England! Also known as John Bull! Or Old Blighty! Or the Little Continent! Or Albion! A beautiful, culture-rich island, home of...

London Bridge!

Stonehenge!

Cranky monarchs!

The Sex Pistols!

Eddie Izzard!

Big Ben!

Neil Gaiman! (grrrrrowl!)

Harry Potter!

aaaaaaaaaaaand one of my favoritest favorite foods ever: Fish & Chips!

I'm so excited I might cry. Just warning you. I tend to get excited about a lot of recipes, but this one tops the list.

I went to England for ten days in 2005 - two teacher-chaperons, nineteen high school students and one British tour guide. It was a beautiful, meaningful learning experience, ample with history. I also searched almost the entire time for a Fish & Chip Shop. When I finally found one on the grounds of Castle Warwick, on my sixth (?) day there, I almost dropped to my knees in awe. I spotted it in the distance and practically ran towards it. I ordered a basket from a blue-eyed British teenage boy in a red apron and wolfed it down at a picnic table before it had a chance to cool down. It was not one of my proudest moments, but they give you tiny packets of malt vinegar, for goodness sake!

My mom made some damn good fish and chips, but now that I'm living on my own, I'm left to my own devices, right? Like everything else. So, cravings took me shopping one day and I gathered up all the ingredients necessary to cook up my own English-style fish & chips.

Now, most people snub their noses at English cuisine and a lot of jokes are made at its expense, and I'm here to tell you as an Anglophile and a foodie, that most of it is false. I could not get enough of English food when I was there, and it was also the only time I've ever enjoyed beer (they serve it at room temperature). I inhaled pasties and baguettes and scones with clotted cream. My only gripe that I can remember was that they love salt (also, their pizza sucks - don't worry, I didn't seek it out; the tour guide took our group to a pizza place in London and I was less than impressed. If it were up to me, I would have found a place where we could get shepherd's pie).

This recipe comes from the Food Network's website, courtesy of Tyler Florence, but I slightly modified it to make it more accessible and easy to follow.

Check out this wicked mise-en-place:

Missing from photo: potatoes

The reason why, the Yukon gold potatoes were currently in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator, already sliced into quarters and ready to go. One of the best pieces of cooking advice I have received (or can give) is, if you're planning on roasting or frying potatoes, slice/cut them up and give them an ice-water bath. The longer you leave your potatoes in cold water, the crispier they will be. Why? Because cold water draws out the starch, making for crunchier, tastier and healthier potatoes (healthier especially if you don't peel the potatoes - most the nutrients are in the skin).

YOU WILL NEED...
Vegetable oil (for frying)
4 large russet potatoes  
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (plus more for seasoning)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (plus more for seasoning)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (12 oz) can of soda water
1/2 cup cornstarch, for dredgin
1 (8 oz) cod or haddock fillets, cut in half on an angle
Malt vinegar, for serving

A few notes before I get into the recipe: instead of russet potatoes, I used Yukon gold (as mentioned above). You could also use small red potatoes as well. Also, the recipe originally calls for rice flour, but cornstarch is a cheaper alternative. Finally, you do not have to use haddock or cod. For this recipe, I used catfish. Any flaky white fish - swai or sole, for example - will work for this recipe. It's a matter of taste.

Alright. Let's goooooooooooo.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and egg. Pour in the soda water and whisk to a smooth batter (it will be thick!)

 

2. Spread cornstarch on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the cornstarch and then dip them in the batter, letting the excess drip off  (I highly recommend spreading a towel underneath your workspace. It makes for easier cleanup)

3. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep pot. When it's hot (about 325 degrees), put the potatoes in the oil. Fry the chips for 2 to 3 minutes; they should not be fully cooked or crisp at this point. Remove the chips with a spider strainer or a slotted spoon, to a paper towel-lined platter to drain (It's easier to do this in medium-sized batches)

 4. Once the potatoes are drained of excess oil, carefully submerge them again into the hot oil. Carefully wave the battered fish into the bubbling oil before dropping them in on top of the chips (that means, lower them in SLOWLY and CAREFULLY, don't just drop them in)

I did get splattered =(

5. Fry the fish and chips for 4 to 5 minutes, until crispy and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the fish and chips on paper towels. Season lightly with salt.

6. Serve with malt vinegar and/or tartar sauce!

And there you go! English-style fish and chips, easy and delicious. Flaky, crunchy catfish with salty crispy chips and tangy sweet malt vinegar to top it off. British cuisine at its finest! I had very little snafus with this dish - except a gnarly oil burn on my forearm. I was lowering potatoes from the slotted spoon into the oil, and one of them toppled off, splashing hot oil up onto my skin. Fun! Also, really remember to shake off the excess batter. I don't think I did it as well as I thought and the skin was just a bit too mushy. Otherwise, it was yet another belly-filling meal!


Well, you won't hear from me tomorrow night, as we have to clean out the refrigerator (read: leftovers for dinner), but I hope you've been having fun with these recipes so far!

Cheerio and the best of British in your own kitchen, chums!

Anarchy in the UK!