The batter is light – almost tempura like, yet it still has that characteristic thick-ish batter that is mandatory for REAL fish and chips straight from your local chippery joint. The glorious bubbles from the beer create a light texture when fried in hot oil – the perfect batter.
By Michelle Tchea
Aussie, Aussie Aussie… Oi, Oi, Oi! Sure we smother our toast in black gunk, known affectionately as Vegemite, but with a glowing restaurant scene and chefs that work with some of the best produce in the world – Australian’s know good tucker. Australians have a tough time claiming many foods. Apparently, we didn’t create the deliciously sweet Pavlova. Many may argue that we were not the first to put baked beans with eggs. But when it comes to fish and chips – you can’t beat serving up fresh seafood from the clean waters of Australia, finding a spot in a sandy white beach and indulging in yet another Australian import. 
I’m sharing yet another recipe from my new book, My Little SoHo Kitchen (Marshall Cavendish Publishers).
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Crispy fish and chips: Secret ingredient – Bubbles!
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
Beer must be very cold to achieve tempura-like batter.
Ingredients
- Plain (all-purpose) flour 200 g (7 oz)
- Canola oil for deep-frying
- Baking powder 2 tsp
- Salt a pinch
- Beer 225 ml
- Whiting Tails 2, about 200 g (7 oz) each
Instructions
- Chill flour in the freezer for 15 minutes before use.
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 185?C (365°F).
- Quickly whisk baking powder and chilled flour along with salt and sparkling water, until you get a thick batter.
- Coat fish fillets with batter and deep-fry one at a time, until crisp and golden. Ensure that the temperature stays at 185?C (365°F) before frying the second fillet.
- Drain fish fillets of oil on a wire rack.
- Serve with garlic fries
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Australian
Hi, Michelle! Very interesting recipe. Just curious, though…why chill the flour? Also, what kind of beer do you recommend: pale ale, dark, light, etc.? I will definitely give your recipe a try! Thanks!
Hi S,
Thanks for you message.
Hope this helps!
Chill the flour to get the ultimate crispy batter. When the super cold batter touches the super hot oil, you get the best crispiest batter ever. In japan, they use really cold iced water, but this works even better.
Definitely use a mild beer like a lager or light beer, just make sure it’s a fresh bottle because you need all the bubbles. A dark stout is too strong and overpowering. Save it for st. Patty’s day or for a Guinness choc cake!
If you want, I also use my new toy, soda stream for extra bubbles when I don’t have beer
http://thebcritic.blogspot.com/2014/01/sodastream-fish-n-chips-bubbly-good.html
Hope I’ve helped! Michelle
Thanks!!
Definitely doing this today :)