Cookbook:Fish and Chips
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
| Fish and Chips | |
|---|---|
| Category: | Fish recipes |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Time: | 30 minutes |
| Difficulty: | |
Cookbook | Recipes | British Cuisine | New Zealand
Fish and chips is a popular dish in Britain, New Zealand and Australia. The traditional fish in Britain is cod, though this is likely to fall apart or fail to cook in the middle.
[edit] Ingredients
For the fish:
- 125g/4oz plain flour
- 125g/4oz corn flour
- Salt
- Enough cold water to form a batter
- 4 cod/haddock/monkfish (or any other suitable flaky fish) fillets
For the chips:
- 4 White Potatoes, Maris Piper preferably
- 1 litre/1¾ pint vegetable oil for deep-frying
- Sea salt
To Serve:
- 1 lemon, wedged
- Sprig of parsley, to garnish
- Sea salt
- Vinegar
[edit] Materials
Fish and chips involves deep frying, which can be extremely dangerous – hot oil can cause severe burns and is a leading cause of kitchen fires. Safest is to use a deep fryer, and to familiarize oneself with safety prior to use. In particular, have a fire blanket immediately to hand, and do not have any children present.
Chip pans are extraordinarily dangerous, and should not be used under any circumstances – they are the leading cause of house fires in the UK, and further, may spill hot oil, causing severe burns. If you have a chip pan, please contact your local fire brigade, as they may offer to trade it in for a deep fryer, or can otherwise advise about the dangers.
[edit] Procedure
- Preheat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 180C/350F, or until a cube of bread browns in 15 seconds when added to the oil.
- Peel the potatoes and cut into thick wedges. Deep-fry the potatoes in batches for 6-8 minutes or until they are crisp and golden.
- Drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with sea salt and keep warm.
- In a bowl, whisk together the plain flour, corn flour, salt and enough cold water to form a batter.
- Cut the monkfish into thick slices, then coat in the batter.
- Cook the fish in batches, in the hot oil for 5-6 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
- Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
- Transfer the fish and chips to serving plates and garnish with lemon wedges and sprig of parsley. Or for a fun, traditional twist place the fried fish and chips on brown paper or newsprint.
- Top with salt and/or vinegar.
- Also can be served with pickles, pickled onions, pickled eggs, and mushy peas.