Best Ever Fish and Chips
Ingredients
For the fish
- 55 g plain flour divided
- 55 g corn flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Sea salt to taste
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup dark beer cold - Tooheys Old or similar works well
- 1/3 cup sparkling water cold
- 4 flake portions
For the Chips:
- 1 kg potatoes peeled
- 1 litre vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Set aside 2 tablespoons of flour. In a large, roomy bowl, mix the remaining flour with the corn flour and baking powder. Season lightly with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper.
- Using a fork to whisk continuously, add the beer and the sparkling water to the flour mixture and continue mixing until you have a thick, smooth batter. Place the batter in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into 1cm-thick slices, then slice these into 1cm wide chips. Place the chips into a colander and rinse under cold running water.
- Place the washed chips into a pan of cold water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Drain carefully through a colander, then dry with paper towels. Keep in the fridge covered with paper towels until needed.
- Meanwhile, lay the flake portions on a paper towel and pat dry. Season lightly with a little sea salt.
- Heat the oil to 180 C in a deep fryer or large, deep saucepan. Cook the chips a few handfuls at a time in the oil for about 2 minutes. Do not brown them. Once the chips are slightly cooked, remove them from the oil and drain. Keep to one side.
- Place the 2 tablespoons of flour reserved from the batter mix into a shallow bowl. Toss each fish fillet in the flour and shake off any excess.
- Dip into the batter, coating the entire fillet.
- Check that the oil temperature is still 180 C. Carefully lower each fillet into the hot oil. Fry for approximately 8 minutes, or until the batter is crisp and golden, turning the flake from time to time with a large slotted spoon.
- Once cooked, remove the flake from the hot oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with greaseproof paper and keep hot.
- Heat the oil to 200 C, then cook the chips until golden and crisp, or about 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain. Season with salt.
- Serve immediately with the flake and tartare sauce or by your favourite condiment.