Bestest Fish and Chips

Ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing more pleasurable than biting into a beautifully battered fish and crispy golden chips. I have perfected the batter for fish and chips and I am contemplating whether i should share it...

Well... I will. Simply because I think everyone deserve to have good fish and chips. :)

Now, most people think that fish and chips are the easiest to make. Just simply whack up a batter and fry your potatoes and you have it, right? Not quite.

You see, there is a certain science to making the batter perfectly crisp on the outside while the fish is moist and juicy on the inside. Temperature is one of the most important factors - you need to deep fry your fish and chips in this temperature, 350degrees F (or 175 C), so that your battered fish and potatoes won't be too oily and soggy. Nothing cuts the steam more than having a limp piece of fish on your plate. That being said, get a cooking thermometer for your kitchen if you don't have any. You need it to gauge the oil's temperature and you can use it for other things too, they last forever anyway.

Let's start with the batter. The secret ingredient is yeast. Yes, yeast. The same kind you use to make bread. Prepare the yeast first before prepping your fish, so that it has time to grow and froth.

Batter:
1/4 teaspoon yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water, with a teaspoon of sugar. Wait, till it's foamy before use (approx. 15 mins).
1.5 cups of flour
1 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Method:
1. Add flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add your yeast mixture, water, salt and baking soda. Mix with a spoon - don't worry about clumps, they are part of the yummy crispy bits.
2. Consistency of your batter should be like a thick white school glue with bits of clumps. Let it sit in a warm place and let the yeast do it's work. The batter will be slightly risen from the carbon dioxide released from the yeast...that's the thing that makes your batter crispy. Leave the batter while you go prep your fish.

Fish:
500 grams of cod/monkfish/or any semi-fatty fish (do not use tilapia, please).
salt and pepper for seasoning
1/4 cup flour for coating

Method:
1. If you've got big fillets of cod, cut them into 3 or 4 parts length wise. Pat dry with a paper towel if fish is wet.
2. Season some salt and pepper on the fish and the dredge it in flour. Tap extra flour out of the fish and let them sit on a clean plate. The flour helps the batter clings to the fish better.

Ready to fry:
Take your fish and batter it in your frothy batter and deep fry in oil that is 350degrees hot. It takes 2-4 minutes on each side. Once it's golden brown, take it out of the oil with a slotted spoon and onto a paper towel. Voila...very crispy fish that STAYS crispy and tastes like the stuff you get from a mom and pop's joint in Great Britain. The winning sign is that crisp sound it makes when you try to break the fish into two :)

Chips:
Now for chips. Have you ever wondered WHY when u try to make fries from fresh potatoes, they always turn out limp and greasy? There are many reasons, one of them is temperature. Perfect temperature is again 350F. And the other reason is, there is simply too many liquid in the potato to start off with, hence the limpness.Here's how you can have a winner for fries every time - you just need to boil these potatoes (cut up in thick fingers, 0.5inchx0.5inch approx.) until they're soft and almost flaky (20-25 minutes on fierce boiling water); drained them and let them rest until the water have evaporated and then deep frying them until crispy golden brown. I got this tip from Anthony Sedleck, that new Food Network star guy who jumps_ever_so_slightly every time he talks. Annoying.

It does pay when you do this extra step because it's reward ALWAYS outweighs the work. You will get crispy, flaky and perfectly cooked fries. EVERY TIME. Sigh...:) I have made this no-fail chips a million times since because my partner LOVES it. "The store-bought-freezer-fries won't do it no more", he said. I don't blame him.