Theme Recipe: Fish And Chips

I didn't have the time to get a recipe up for the Olympic Friday we had a couple of weeks ago, and what could be more quintessentially British than good old fashioned Fish and Chips??  It is featured as the signature dish at vendors during the games and can be had all over the country:  quality ranging from terrible to excellent!  It is the original British "take away" wrapped in newspaper, well salted and spiked (if liked) with malt vinegar.  At the games they are serving ketchup on the side, which strikes me as pretty "American."  Some serve it with mayonnaise and/or tartar sauce (also American), and at sit down restaurants one must have green peas.  Lemon wedges are also found at some sit down joints.

Batter:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg separated

1/2 cup beer

3 tbsp. whole milk

3 tbsp. ice cold water

Fish:

2 lbs firm white fleshed fish, like fresh cod, etc. (or 1 to 2 pieces per person)

whole fillets, or cut in half side ways.

Pinch salt for each side

Chips:

2 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled or not, sliced into strips 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch wide.

Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening for deep frying.

1 Oven Proof dish with toweling for a lining.

1.  Heat the oil or shortening slowing to the temperature of 375 degrees.  Also preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2.  Dry the potato sticks well.  Start by frying the chips in small batches, until they are very crisp and lightly browned.  Drain well and place in the oven dish to keep warm.  Sprinkle with salt if you like, this is strictly optional.

3.  Mix the flour and salt together, make a well in center and add beer (or ale) and egg yolk.  Mix well in the middle and then start adding the flour in.  When all the flour is wet, add the milk and beat well, finally add the cold water beat until the batter is smooth.  For a nice thick batter, use right away, for a thinner and therefore, lighter batter, let sit for thirty minutes.  Before using, lightly beat the egg white and lightly beat them into the batter.

4.  Wash and dry the fish and sprinkle with a little bit of salt on each side.  Individually drop each piece into the batter and then into the hot fat, cook for 3 to 6 minutes depending on the size of the fillets.  Don't cook too many pieces together at once, or they will stick together.  Drain each piece well.  When done serve the fish with the chips.  Sprinkle with salt, if liked and with a shaker of malt vinegar.  You may serve any kind of condiments, and may also wish to serve the green peas, which will make a complete meal.

VARIATIONS:

Well there are almost endless numbers of sides that can be served, including the tradition of serving coleslaw with fried fish here in the US.  Any type of salad like thing would not be considered too weird here in the US:  Rice Salad, Pasta Salad, Mixed Vegetable Salad, Potato Salad, Mixed Bean Salad; a green pea salad with be a great substitution for the traditional mushy peas.  Even a lightly dressed green salad is nice.

Dipping sauces are starting to branch out now too.  Cocktail sauce shows up often now.  In some places run by British subjects of east Indian decent, you can ask for a curry sauce.  I've seen some "Mexican Fish & Chips" served with guacamole and a hot green salsa on the side.  Hot sauce, like Tabasco, is served in some places.  Spicy sweet Thai chili sauce is nice.  Remoulade sauces are served in some place here in the southern US.  Various flavored sour cream dipping sauces also are around.  Oriental style soy based sauces show up in some parts of the Northwest US.  Some places char lemons cut in half.  Or serve with lime wedges.

Serve other vegetables along side the peas, like sauteed corn, pickled beets (I like the beet vinegar), pickle spears, sliced fresh red radishes, tomato wedges, steamed broccoli spears, sliced of fresh red or green onion, steamed green beans, grilled (broiled) mushrooms, wilted greens, grilled tomato halves Onion Rings are a great way to use up excess batter.  Of course, here in the south in the US we also always serve "hushpuppies" with the chips--they get served whether you ask for them or not.

The chips can be varied by changing the shape of the fry:  such as cut into wedges instead of sticks or cut them into rounds.  Different potatoes can be used, including new or "wax" potatoes, or some of the colored types like blue potatoes or even sweet potatoes.  In the Caribbean, white sweet potatoes are sometimes used.

Batters can be varied too.  Leave out the beer and increase the milk for a richer affair.  Leave off separating the egg and used a whole egg instead.  Vary the kind of flour used or try a tempura batter.  Incidentally, this batter is great for homemade chicken fingers or pieces, if you have a family member that won't eat fried fish (I have tons of them....DAMN THEM!).

Alternative ways of preparing the dish include "oven frying,"  broiling the fish with a crumb coating and serving with the fried chips, and "grilled fish and chips" where the whole affair is cooked sans batter and oil over hot coals.

Try other types of seafood, like Shrimp and Chips.

There is even a Fish & Chips Sushi Roll!!