Homemade chip shop style beer battered fish & chips.
Last week was my 16th year anniversary of living in the UK (???)… and I think we celebrated it appropriately: ended up unexpectedly getting drunk in a pub + ate gluten free fish & chips. Not what I had planned at all, but I’d say it was a success considering the occasion, right? lol
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here in London for so long though and it’s kind of a bittersweet feeling… as much as I love this beautiful city and have had so many great experiences here, I also really hate it. lol Living in London isn’t easy… For instance even after all this time we still can’t afford to buy a house here (and probably never will unless we somehow get rich) so I don’t know how much longer we can keep throwing all our money into greedy landlords’ pockets (for mouldy cupboard size flats that are falling apart)… any other Londoner feeling completely discouraged? ? But my boyfriend’s work heavily depends on being here so in the meantime we’re trying to enjoy everything this place DOES have to give, especially the never-ending supply of gluten free food. ?/ rant over ?
P.S.: I should add that this was actually my boyfriend’s creation as he’s the one who made the gluten free beer battered fish for me. And it was perfect, so crispy and delicious, so here’s his recipe. ?
NOTES:
1. The turmeric is optional and used to add a nice golden colour to the batter.
2. Using sparkling water and beer help the batter puff and crisp up.
3. If using a plain flour blend instead of self-raising (I used Freee Foods), add extra baking powder to compensate.
Gluten Free Fish and Chips Recipe:
- Cod fillets (or fish of your choice)
- 50g gluten free self-raising flour blend (I used Doves Farm)
- 50g cornflour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 85g gluten free ale
- 65g sparkling water
- Cooking oil of your choice
- A few potatoes
- Salt
- Cooking oil of your choice
FOR THE CHIPS: 80-100C (for the first round) + 190-200C (for the second round)
FOR THE FISH: 190C-200C
Directions
For chip shop style chips:
- Cut the potatoes into chunky chips and place them in a bowl of salted water.
- Once ready to cook, drain the potatoes and pat them dry with a kitchen towel of cloth before frying.
- First you want to blanche the chips in oil i.e. cook them on low heat until they start to soften up so heat your oil to 70-100C (158-212F) and cook for about 20 minutes. Then fish the chips out and let them drain and cool down in a colander.
- Meanwhile, raise the heat up to 180-200C (356-392F) and then fry the chips a second time for 2 to 5 minutes until they start to turn a little golden. Then fish them out again and let them sit for a bit in the colander again to get rid of excess oil. Tip: to reach that proper soft chip chop chips texture, it helps to place them in a bowl with a lid on or plate on top so they sit around for a bit in their own steam.
For the battered fish:
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, black pepper, baking powder and turmeric) together in a bowl and prepare a plate with a bit more flour on the side (to coat the fish before dipping into the batter).
- Then add the beer and sparkling water to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth and lump free.
- Pat the fish dry with some kitchen towel or cloth, first coat the fish in flour (it helps the batter stick to the fish) and then dip in the batter until completely covered. Let excess batter drip off and place the fish in your hot oil (pre-heated to 180-200C/356-392F).
- Fry for 8-9 minutes, until crispy and golden. Then let the freshly fried fish rest on some kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.
Enjoy!
This is a great batter thank you, lovely and crisp and I made fritters with remaining batter which were lovely. I had never thought to use cornflour which I think makes all the difference. We were wondering if it could be made with sparkling wine ?