Battered Fish (English)

Fish and chips are one of Britain's favourite foods, we eat them at the seaside, for dinner from the fish and chip shop. Making battered fish at home is simple, quick and easy as you can see in this battered fish recipe. Choose the freshest fish you can find, frozen is also fine but make sure it is thoroughly defrosted first. Prepare the batter and only dip the fish at the last moment before plunging into hot oil to fry. This way you will always have a light and crisp snap to the batter.

2 oz all-purpose flour, unbleached (55 g)
2 oz cornstarch/cornflour (55 g)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup dark beer (75 mL)
1/3 cup sparkling water (75 mL)
1 lb white fish fillet; cod, pollock or haddock (450 g)
¼ gallon vegetable oil or other frying oil (1 L)

In a large roomy bowl mix together the all but 2 Tbsp. of the flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Season lightly with a tiny pinch sea salt and pepper.

Using a fork, and whisking continuously, add the beer and the water to the flour mixture and continue mixing until you have a thick, smooth batter. Place the batter in the fridge and rest for between 30 minutes and an hour.

Meanwhile, lay the halved fish fillets on a sheet of kitchen paper and pat dry. Season very lightly with a little salt.

In a deep, thick bottomed saucepan, chip pan or electric fryer (if you have one), heat the oil until sizzling hot (test by dropping a ¼ tsp. of the batter into the oil, it should sizzle and crisp up immediately).

Place the 2 Tbsp. of flour reserved from the batter mix into a shallow bowl. Toss each fish fillet in the flour, shake off any excess, dip into the batter then carefully lower each fillet into the hot oil. Fry for approx. 8 minutes or until the batter is crisp and golden, turning the fillets from time to time with a large slotted spoon.

Using the same slotted spoon, once cooked remove the fillets from the hot oil, drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with chips (fries).