Beer (Non Alcoholic/Alcoholic) Battered Fish And Chips

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Beer (Non Alcoholic/Alcoholic) Battered Fish And Chips

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No stodgy, thick battered fish here. Only a thin, crisp layer covers the fish.

A woman I once knew at college would rave about what a great cook she was. "I can cook any cuisine except Eskimo. I used to own and run a restaurant." I was young but not naive.

I have it in my head that it was a seafood restaurant but I could be wrong. One day, I asked her what she would do with the fish at the restaurant that was past its prime. "We dip them in beer and fry them up." I was quite repulsed.

What was I expecting her to say? Perhaps, something along the lines of we just don't sell them. Ever since, the thought of beer battered fish did not appeal to me.

Then one evening, I was channel surfing and the youthful looking Irish, Donal Skehan, a self styled amateur chef with his infectious smile looked straight into the camera and at me. He was cooking beer battered fish. 

In his usual rapid fire speed of talking, he vouched that it would be the best battered fish I would ever have cooked and that I had to try it. Who can say no to that cute face?

Beer batter is the way to go. Don't you worry if you do not take alcohol as nonalcoholic beer works just as well. Use only the freshest fish you can get your hands on. That's the only way to eat fish anyway.

The beer batter fries up to a light and crisp batter. As with any fried foods, it will be oily so drain off the oil well. 

Scroll down to 'Tips' to find out how I try to get rid of as much oil as possible from my battered fish.

I like serving my fish and chips with my Coleslaw. Why? It's so easy to make and I can make it 2 days in advance. Moreover, the cold tangy slaw complements the fried fish and chips.

You will have quite a bit of oil leftover from frying the fish and chips. To not let the oil go to waste, perhaps you would like to try my recipe for Crispy Gluten & Egg Free Corn Fritters - wonderful little fresh corn nuggets with every bite of crispy and not at all doughy fritter. 

BEER (NON ALCOHOLIC/ALCOHOLIC) BATTERED FISH AND CHIPS

Prep:	20 minutes
Inactive: Cook:	- 10 - 15 minutes
Level:	Moderately easy
Serves:	4
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	No

Just the ingredients 1.5 lb (680g) Firm-flesh white fish fillets Some all-purpose/plain flour for dusting 3 - 4 cups (750ml - 1 litre) oil for frying For the batter 1 cup beer (nonalcoholic or alcohol) 3/4cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose/plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 pepper For the chips A bag of frozen french fries Truffle salt and oil to season french fries OR just regular salt Condiments Tartare sauce Apple cider vinegar

Ingredients

1.5 lb (680g) Firm-flesh white fish fillets
Some all-purpose/plain flour for dusting
3 - 4 cups (750ml - 1 litre) oil for frying

For the batter

1 cup beer (nonalcoholic or alcohol)

3/4cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose/plain flour
You might need more/less.

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 pepper

For the chips

A bag of frozen french fries.
Why won't I prepare my own french fries? It is not worth the time and effort to buy, transport, wash, peel, cut and double fry potatoes to get those crisp chips. 

Read the label on the bag of frozen french fries to make sure that the ingredients listed are largely potatoes, oil and salt (citric acid is fine) and you can be rest assured that you will have rather good chips to go with the fish. It will likely be better than what you could have prepared from scratch. Quicker to get on the table and less oily too as frozen fries have already been steamed, blanched and pre-fried.

Which brand do I favour? Simplot. They supply to a fast food chain that most agree serve the best french fries to come out from a hamburger chain. 

Truffle salt and oil to season french fries
OR
just ordinary salt

Condiments

Tartare sauce
To make a simple version: mayonnaise, caper berries/capers and/or sweet pickles/gherkins chopped roughly, a little brining liquid from the caper berries/capers and/or sweet pickles/gherkins. Mix gently and season to taste.

Apple cider vinegar

Method

Check that there are no bones on your fish fillets. Wipe off any excess liquid on the fillets with paper towels. Set aside.

Measure out all the dry ingredients for the batter and mix well. Leave that and the can of beer in the refrigerator. Cold batter fries up into crispy batter.

You will be using the same oil for frying both the fish and the french fries and you will start off by frying the french fries. Why?

It takes longer to cook the french fries than the fish! Anyway, french fries makes for good nibbling as you cook.

Frying the french fries

Heat up the oil to 360F(180C). No thermometer? Stick a wooden spoon or chopstick into the hot oil. If you see little bubbles around your wooden implement, the oil should be hot enough.

Start off with frying the french fries. Follow the instructions on the back of the bag. Do not overcrowd your frying vessel. The fries will steam instead and will not crisp up. Better to fry them in several batches.

Drain on wire racks to remove excess oil. 

Then transfer onto kitchen paper towels and toss them around to blot off more oil. 

It then goes back on the wire racks until you are ready to eat. 

Do not season with salt until you are ready to eat. This prevents them from going limp too quickly. Similarly, if you are using truffle oil, drizzle only before serving.

Frying the fish

1. The process of battering and frying happens very fast so have the following ready:

(1) draining or cooling rack plus a baking tray to sit under it to catch excess oil.
(2) plenty of tempura paper/kitchen paper towels/oil absorbing paper to blot off excess oil.
(3) a kitchen skimmer or sieve to clear off any impurities from the hot oil.
(4) Have the plate of flour (for dusting) close by the burner.
(5) Premixed dry ingredients and beer

2. In a large enough pot, fill with enough oil to deep fry the fish (fish has to be able to be  completely submerged). Heat the oil to 360F (180C).
3. When the temperature of the oil has reached 340F (170C), season the fish with salt and pepper.
4. As soon as the temperature of the oil is 360F (180C), prepare the beer batter.
5. Open the can of beer, measure out the 1 cup (and that includes beer foam) and mix it into the pre-measured dry ingredients. Do this quickly so that you keep in as much bubbles as possible. If there are flour lumps, leave them. A few here and there is fine. The consistency of the batter should be a little thicker than whipping cream. It should not be as thick as double/thickened cream. So add more/less beer/flour if required.

6. Dip the fillet in flour, shake off excess, immediately dip into the prepared batter and slide the fish away from you into the hot oil.
7. How long it takes to cook depends on the thickness and length of your fillet. A good gauge would be when the batter turns golden brown.
8. If your fillets are cut the same size as mine (refer to top image), that works out to be about 2 to 3 minutes on one side and maybe 1 to 1.5 minutes on the other side. It will cook pretty fast as the batter is very thin.
9. Drain on wire racks for ~ 5 minutes, then transfer to the paper to drain further. Want to remove even more oil off? Please read 'Tips' below.
10. Always serve fish and chips hot. I like them with vinegar and tartare sauce (recipe under 'Ingredient' list). Some like it with tabasco sauce. Eat it the way you like.

Tips

How I remove as much oil as possible from battered fried fish

After draining most of the oil away on a wire rack, sit the fried fish on tempura paper/kitchen paper towels/oil absorbing paper for a few minutes. 

Wipe off visible oil with kitchen paper towels and then sit them on clean sheets of tempura paper/kitchen paper towels/oil absorbing paper to absorb any remaining oil.

If you are not going to be serving the fish fillets fairly soon, after 1 minute or so of them sitting on the new sheets of tempura paper/kitchen paper towels/oil absorbing paper, transfer them back on the wire racks. 

Left to sit indefinitely on the tempura paper/kitchen paper towels/oil absorbing paper, it will go soggy at the bottom. 

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                             

These are quite fuss free open sandwiches that I eat often enough for brunch or lunch. It has soft scrambled eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, edamame beans, radish sprouts and roasted almonds. All of which sits on sourdough bread and is then topped with truffle oil. Simple and yummy.

Orange Chiffon Cake

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Orange Chiffon Cake

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Soft, light, moist, orangey -my favourite chiffon cake.

This recipe is an evolution of one passed down to me. Growing up, we ate very few cakes and cookies. It all seems very odd now that I bake and cook often.

I know of people who shudder at the thought of baking chiffon cakes. The fear is often of the cake not rising high enough and if it did, it would then be the fear that the cake will fall out of its baking pan as it cools in its upturned pan. Or perhaps that the outer layer of the cake might stick to the pan as you dislodge it, resulting in a pretty bald cake.

It ought not be intimidating.

I have weighed out all the ingredients, including the egg whites and yolks so the recipe is rather fool-proof. Weighing/measuring the eggs is important as my 'large size' egg could differ considerably from your 'large size' egg. Pictures are helpful when baking chiffon cakes so I have included pictures to guide you along.

For a successful bake keep these pointers in mind: 

• weigh/measure all ingredients including the eggs
• whip your eggs whites to stiff peak (don't under or over beat)
• fold in gently and quickly
• bake a little longer than what you would expect
• best to get an oven thermometer to ensure you are baking at my recommended oven temperatures

ORANGE CHIFFON CAKE                                                     

Prep:	20 minutes
Cook:	65 minutes
Inactive:	-
Level:	Moderate
Serves:	At least 8
Oven Temperature:	380F (190C), lowered to 340F(170C)
Can recipe be doubled?	No
Make ahead?	Taste best freshly baked but it can keep up to 3 days tightly covered. Refrigerate thereafter.

Just the ingredients (9.17oz)(260g)self raising flour OR Add 3 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Top up with all-purpose/plain flour until the scale registers 9.17oz(260g). (7.05oz)(200g) caster sugar 3/4 cup (~ 3 oranges) orange juice  3 teaspoons (~ 3 oranges) zest  1/2 cup neutral tasting oil 1/2 cup (4.76oz)(135g)(~8) egg yolks  1 and 1/4 cups (11.04oz)(313g)(~9) egg whites 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (3.52oz)(100g) icing sugar

Ingredients

(9.17oz)(260g)self raising flour

To make self raising flour

In a bowl, add 3 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Top up with all-purpose/plain flour until the scale registers 9.17oz(260g). Sift before using.

(7.05oz)(200g) caster sugar

3/4 cup (~ 3 oranges) orange juice 
Use sweet fragrant oranges. As this cake contains no artificial orange flavours, use only oranges you are happy to eat yourself. Makes for a very big taste difference.

3 teaspoons (~ 3 oranges) zest 

1/2 cup neutral tasting oil

1/2 cup (4.76oz)(135g)(~8) egg yolks 

1 and 1/4 cups (11.04oz)(313g)(~9) egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

(3.52oz)(100g) icing sugar

Method

Use a chiffon/angel food cake/tube pan. Mine is made of aluminium. The bottom diameter should be 9"(23cm) and the height 4.3"(11cm). Do not use non stick or silicon. I have tried it with dismal results. It never bakes as high and the outer layer of the cake inevitably sticks to the pan.

Turn the oven on to 380F(190C). Oven rack adjusted to the lowest rung. I do recommend you invest in an oven thermometer as the internal temperature of ovens differ widely.

Putting the batter together

If you are making your own self-raising flour, remember to sift flour, salt and baking powder first. Mix in the self-raising flour with the caster sugar. Break up any lumps in the process. Set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, mix the orange juice, zest, oil and egg yolks in that order. Do not add zest directly onto the egg yolks as it might coagulate the yolks.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir to incorporate breaking up any lumps.  Do not over mix as you do not want to overwork the gluten in the flour- you might end up with a doughy and heavy as opposed to a light cake.

Wipe the mixer bowl you will be using to whip the egg whites and the whisk attachment(s) with a little vinegar or lemon juice. This gets rid of any traces of oil which will prevent the egg whites from whipping into stiff peaks.

Add the egg whites and the cream of tartar into the mixer bowl. Start the mixer on medium speed. When the egg whites are frothy, gradually add the icing sugar a teaspoon at a time. 

Once you have added in all the icing sugar, check that all the icing sugar has been mixed in. Stop the machine and scrape down the bowl with a clean spatula.

The whites should be beaten to stiff peak at this stage. When you lift up the whisk attachment(s), the whites will hold its peak and not flop to the side.

Add a dollop of egg whites into the orange flour mixture to loosen the mixture. Work fast but do not over work it. It takes less than 15 seconds. The whites do not have to be fully incorporated at this stage. Refer to the photograph below.

Fold in the remaining egg whites in 2 intervals. Again, be gentle but work fast.

First half of egg whites are folded in. I am just about to add the next half of whites at this stage. Notice it is still  not evenly mixed which is fine.

Second half of egg whites folded in. Batter is now evenly mixed.

Pour the batter into the chiffon cake (tube) pan (no need to butter, flour or grease pan) and level out the batter. 

Before putting it on the bottom rack of the heated oven, drop the cake pan 3X on the work counter from a 1"(2.5cm) height to get rid of excess bubbles.

Reduce the temperature immediately to 340F(170C).

Bake for 30 minutes, cover the top with aluminium foil to prevent cake from over browning and continue to bake.

When is the cake baked through?

Unlike other cakes you do not use a cake skewer.

Instead, use your fingers to press half an inch down the top of the cake. The cake is ready when the cake springs back quickly (in about 1 - 2 seconds). This cake has to be baked a bit drier than you would a normal cake. Why?

The cake has to be cooled completely in its upturned cake pan that should be propped up on a can of bake beans. 

If the cake is too moist, it will be heavy and fall out of the upturned cake pan as it cools. Therefore, remove the cake from the oven only when the cake gives a quick bounce back when pressed ~ 1 - 2 seconds. It would have the feel of a firm soap sponge when pressed.

To dislodge cake, work a palette knife around the inside circumference of the cake ring. Press the knife firmly against the aluminium as you slide the knife. You want to scrape every lovely cake crumb off the inside of the cake tin.

Do the same for the inner tube of the cake ring.

Pull on the inner tube to lift the cake out from the cake ring. Set down on a level surface.

Press the palette knife against the bottom inside of the cake tin. Using a wide sawing motion, work palette knife around the base of the cake. 

Invert the cake directly on to your cake stand. If you have done a good job, the entire cake will be a lovely golden brown with no missing or peeling cake crumb.  

Slice with a serrated knife and serve with a cup of tea.

The outer golden brown layers has pretty much stayed on the cake. Pretty.

Tips

Tips for a successful bake? I pretty much outlined it all in 'Method' and in my introduction.
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                

Fish and Chips! The fish fillets are coated in a thin and crisp batter so you get to eat more fish than batter.

Braised Pork Belly In Black Bean Soy Sauce Flavoured Lightly With StarAnise And Clove

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Braised Belly Pork In Black Bean Sauce

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What makes this dish is the quality of the black bean soy sauce. I choose not to overpower the lovely flavour of  this special black bean soy sauce with aromatics. There is no 5-spice powder, fennel or cinnamon. Keeping it lightly flavoured makes the difference.

I know enough people who love pork belly. Hence, this is the cut of pork that I use. I have an aversion to eating animal fat so I cook with lean cuts of pork but for this dish, you have to use pork belly as it is best suited for braising. This cut of meat breaks down into tender melt in your mouth morsels with slow cooking. I have cooked this dish with pork shoulder which works quite well but everyone else except for a few much prefer pork belly so it's pork belly that I suggest you use.

You will have a lot of sauce from braising the pork and none of it will be wasted. Use it to sauce firm tofu and boiled eggs. Yum yum yum.

BRAISED PORK BELLY IN BLACK BEAN SOY SAUCE FLAVOURED LIGHTLY WITH STAR ANISE AND CLOVE

Prep:	10 minutes
Cook:	~1 - 1and1/4 hours
Inactive:	-
Level:	Moderately easy
Serves:	3 to 4
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Yes, up to 3 days ahead.

Just the ingredients 2lbs (900g) pork belly cut into 2 equal portions 1.41oz (40g) yellow/golden rock sugar OR cleared coloured rock sugar OR granulated sugar 3 medium-size garlic cloves 0.52oz(15g) cleaned knob of ginger 3 segments of star anise 1 stick of clove 1/2 (125ml) cup "Ta Tung" brand Light Black Bean Soy Sauce 1 and 1/3 cups (330ml) store bought salted chicken stock made without onions, carrots etc. OR 1 teaspoon chicken granules 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (add towards the end, adjust to taste) Enough water to almost cover the top of the pork.

Ingredients

2lbs (900g) pork belly cut into 2 equal portions

1.41oz (40g) yellow/golden rock sugar OR cleared coloured rock sugar OR granulated sugar
Grind rock sugar in a coffee grinder until fine before using to caramelise pork.

I prefer the yellow (or golden) coloured rock sugar as it provides a slightly lighter sweetness as compared to clear coloured rock sugar.

Granulated sugar will give you a sweeter tasting sauce.

You can buy the rock sugar in some supermarkets (look for it along the dried food or sugar aisle) and in asian grocery stores. 

I use rock sugar to flavour my Ginger Tea. Click on link to read more.

3 medium-size garlic cloves

0.52oz(15g) cleaned knob of ginger

3 segments of star anise

1 stick of clove

1/2 cup (125ml) "Ta Tung" brand Light Black Bean Soy Sauce
Most soy sauce sitting on supermarket shelves are made from yellow soy beans. Whilst you can make the braised pork belly from those soy sauce, once you make braise pork with a light (not thick or dark) black bean soy sauce, you will notice a taste difference between yellow and black bean soy sauce braised pork.

Where to buy? Look for it in the supermarket aisle where you would find regular soy sauce. There should be at least one brand of black bean soy sauce for sale. Some supermarkets just don't carry it. Asian supermarkets should stock them. The brand I use is from Taiwan.

If you are using regular soy sauce, please adjust the amount of salt. Some brands can be very salty. Hold back the salt until the end. You might not even need it.

1 and 1/3 cups (330ml) store bought salted chicken stock made without onions, carrots etc.

Read the list of ingredients. It will taste very different if you use a stock made with unnecessary vegetables. I use Heinz - made in France.
OR
1 teaspoon chicken granules
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (add towards the end, adjusting to taste)

Enough water to almost cover the top of the pork.

Method

In a deep large pot add sugar in a single layer.

Caramelise (without stirring) over medium high heat until sugar turns amber. 

When the caramel turns this shade, add the pork. If you hold off any longer the sugar will burn.

Sear pork on all sides until browned and caramelised. Takes about 5 minutes. 

There should be very little liquid left in the pot by the time pork is nicely caramelised. Sugar burns easily so do not move away from the stove.

Most of the caramel has been seared onto the exterior of the pork. There is only a
little caramel left in the pot. Time to add the liquids.

Add the chicken stock and all the other ingredients (remember if you are using chicken granules and salt instead of chicken stock, do not add salt yet). Add the garlic, smashed the ginger before adding that in, then the star anise and cloves. 

Top up with water if necessary to have the pork almost covered.

Bring to boil, reduce heat to low. Cover the pot and cook until meat is tender but not fall apart tender (~1 to 1 and 1/4 hour). Keep in mind the meat will still continue to cook in residual heat.

Half way through the cooking time, turn pork over and continue braising.  

Test by inserting a skewer through the meat. If it goes through easily, it is ready.

Turn off the heat and leave to cool completely before cutting.

Remove the pork from the sauce, slice into 0.39 inches (1 cm) thickness and overlap the slices on your serving vessel.

Strain the sauce to get a clear sauce and to remove excess oil. I lay a sheet of paper kitchen towel on my strainer and strain through it. I repeat this process three times if necessary to get rid of as much grease as possible.

Now is the time to taste the sauce and add salt if you think it is necessary. The sauce should taste a little saltier than you like it. If it is way too salty, dilute with water.

Pour some of the sauce over the pork slices. Transfer the remaining sauce into a sauce boat so that diners can serve themselves.

Serve with steaming rice.

Tips

Do you know the sauce can be used to sauce blocks of tofu and boiled eggs? 

Cook the uncut tofu in the microwave or briefly in boiling water. Drain. Pour enough sauce to cover the tofu half way up and let it sit in the sauce for an hour or so to absorb the flavours.* When you are ready to serve, slice, plate and pour more sauce over it. This can be made a day ahead.

And, if you still have more sauce (which you would), you could use it to sauce boiled eggs too.

Boil your eggs, shell and similarly let the eggs soak in the sauce until you are ready to eat.* Before eating, slice the eggs in half and pour the gravy around the eggs. This can be made up to 3 days ahead.

* You could simmer the tofu/boiled and peeled eggs in the sauce for 20 minutes to develop a deeper flavour. When I do take the time to braise the tofu and eggs, I always braise them separately from the pork. Why? 

Braising tofu and eggs in the black bean soy sauce will change the flavour of the sauce. The sauce will take on more of the flavour of the tofu and eggs the longer it is kept braising. To avoid the 'beany' taste of tofu and the 'sulphuric' taste of overcooked eggs, keep the braising to 20 minutes.  

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                
I have been wanting to post this recipe for a long time. I am hoping I will get less requests to bake it and instead be surprised and presented with a baked Orange Chiffon Cake (using the same recipe of course).