Recipe : Fish & chips, beer batter style

My second son who has just gotten his SPM results is sitting at home, rotting away. He is going to take up a diploma in professional chef as well.

He has wanted to try out beer batter. And so do I, after watching Jamie Oliver’s series Oliver’s Twist. There was one show where Jamie showed a group of American students how to prepare fish & chips, British style.

But my son got another recipe from that River Cottage guy. Both of us watched a lot of cook show, as you can see. So, we tried out the River Cottage guy recipe today.

Ingredients are a bottle of beer, two slab of fish enough for two persons, a cup of flour, a bit of oil and salt & pepper.

I used frozen red snapper. Not sure if my fish is fresh, I seasoned it with a bit of salt and pepper plus rubbing cornflour on it. Then, I squeeze off the liquid before cooking.

Add beer to the flour. I think we used about a cup of beer. Season it with some salt and pepper. My son added a bit of cooking oil to the flour before adding the beer.

Whisk the beer batter till frothy. Let it stand for 30 minutes. Son said it is to let off the CO2 or whatever.

Adjust the batter by adding more flour or beer, depending on how watery it is. It has to be thick enough to cover the fish and yet, not runny till dripping.

Deep fry in oil for about 20 minutes.

Some fishes may cook faster or take longer time. So, it is best to test with one piece before serving. If fish is cooked, it will break easily like the above. If not, it will remain transparent and you can break the flesh apart.

In the Jamie Oliver’s series, he put the freshly fried fish on to a newspaper. I can feel myself cringe like the American students. Imagine the horrors of eating those toxic ink they used to print newspapers! However, I want to make a bit of drama for my photo so I used a kitchen towel on the Sunday Star (we only buy printed papers on Sundays).

Verdict : River Cottage guy’s recipe is not so crispy. I will try Jamie Oliver’s style. Jamie used the white of an egg. He whisked the egg white till firm and add to the beer batter.

However, beer batter is yummy. It doesn’t have any sourish taste or even smell of beer. I suppose if I use those cheap German beer (not the RM28/bottle type) , it will be more malty.