recipe: beer battered fish & chips

So I made us fish and chips for tea on Sunday night. I've been very careful with my fish intake given that I have to check every type fish before I shove them into my mouth and also how many times a week I can eat them. It's just too hard for this preggo me. That's why I have not been eating alot of seafood just to make life easier, but once in a while I would succumb to a tuna serving once a week.

Pregnancy can sometimes be rather, troublesome when it comes to food!

So anyway, given my love for fish and the lack of, I have been hankering for some good ol' fush and chups and thought I'll just make them myself. Given that it's a deep fried fatty dish, both the fish and chips, I've decided to go a bit healthier and make oven baked chips instead. Although I can't say much about the beer-battered fish though. Well hey, a girl has got to live a little aye!

Beer-battered Fish and Chips

1 ½ ltr vegetable oil
150 g self raising flour
150 g cornflour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
300 ml beer (I use light ale)
500 g white fish, flake or blue grenadier (I used snapper)
50 g plain flour, for dusting
flake salt
4 to 5 potatoes (more if you like to have heaps of chips)
salt and pepper for seasoning
sprigs of thyme leaves
olive oil

Firstly, cook the chips first by slicing them into fingers, put them onto a roasting pan, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle with generous amount of olive oil and throw a few sprouts of thyme. Pop them into the oven at 220 C for 40 to 45 mins.

Pour vegetable oil into a domestic deep fryer and heat to 180°c. Alternatively use a heavy based high sided pot.

Combine the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Pour in ¼ of the beer and whisk gently starting from the middle and begin to combine, drawing the flour from the edges of the bowl. Add ¾ of the remaining beer and whisk vigorously into a smooth batter. Add the rest of the beer and whisk until it reaches the consistency of thick cream.

Slice the fish into 10 cm x 2 cm strips. Coat in the flour and pat the excess from the fish. Drop into the batter and coat well. Lift each piece at one end and allow the excess batter to run off. Gently lower the fish into the hot oil, holding it at one end in the oil for a few seconds until the fish floats. Let go gently and repeat for the other pieces. Cook for 4 minutes or until the battered fish is crisp and a light golden brown. Lift out and drain the fish on paper towels.

Sprinkle with flake salt and serve with chips and tartare sauce.