Fishy Business: Frying up some Chips and Fish
I love fried fish. I also love potato chips. What I don’t love is Fish & Chips, mainly because of the misleading name. For reasons beyond my ken, someone decided that the ‘chips’ in ‘Fish and Chips’ should refer not to delicious crispy-thin slices of fried potato, but instead what I’m pretty sure everyone else calls ‘fries’.
It’s probably the British. Their attitude toward naming food seems to be geared toward giving the unwary diner a nasty surprise. I’ll never forget the day I discovered that Black Sausage was not, in fact, really sausage.
In any case, if you’re the kind of person that’s ever sought to rectify this travesty, you should try this recipe for Chips & Fish. Some naysayers might point out that you could just have some chips with your Fish & Chips, but just ignore their carping. It’s also rather simple and can be done on a budget, because another thing I don’t love is paying $15 for a small fish and half a plate of coleslaw.
You’ll Need:
2 White Fish Fillets I’m using frozen Grouper fillets because that’s what I have but this works with just about any white fish, especially Dory or Basa.
1 Egg Just the one. Any more is sort of wasteful.
1 Handful LAY'S® Salt & Vinegar Flavoured Potato Chips: Happiness in Every Bite!® The very best farm-grown potatoes lovingly seasoned and cooked to crisp perfection, LAY'S® Salt & Vinegar Flavoured Potato Chips are the perfect snack for any time and place. No, they’re not sponsoring me but I’m hoping they will. Feel free to experiment with chip flavours!
1 Scoop Plain Flour If you’re feeling fancy, you can add some herbs like Basil to the flour. 1 Slice Butter (optional) Because everything is better with butter.
Salt and Pepper to taste Noting of course, that potato chips are already salted so you may not want to add salt.
Method
Step 1: Lay out your fish fillets.
Step 2: Crush your potato chips, assuming you didn’t eat all of them while promising yourself to have ‘just one more’. Do this by pouring the chips into a Ziploc bag and kneading, because otherwise razor-sharp potato chip shards will go flying all over the place. Really go at it! Think of the crumbs at the bottom of a Pringles can – the ones that go spilling out on your face when you tip the can because your hands can’t fit through the hole.
Pringles -- make your cans wider!
Step 3: Prepare the egg wash. Which is really just beating the egg.
Step 4: Go watch an episode of Westworld, or two because your fish is going to take about an hour or more to defrost. You don’t want to rush this- Make sure that when you touch the fish, it’s soft all the way through, otherwise it’ll just be tasteless and tough.
Step 5: Pat dry your fillets with kitchen towels or a clean cloth. If they’re wet the flour will clump.
Step 6: Coat the fish in flour. Just throw it around the flour until all bits of the fillet are evenly coated. If some bits are difficult, don’t be afraid to pick up the flour and rub it in. Shake the fish to dislodge any excess flour.
Step 7: Dip in egg. Just enough to cover the fish entirely with egg! It’s not taking a bath.
Don’t do this.
Step 8: Coat the fish in your chip crumbs. Don’t be shy with the chips!
Step 9: Season your crumbed fish with salt and pepper.
Step 10: Heat your pan over high heat: you want it to be really hot. Add a tablespoon of oil.
Step 11: Once your pan is hot, lay your fish in. You don’t have to push it around, just press it down and try to make sure its evenly cooked. After 2-3 minutes (depending on thickness of fillet), flip the fish.
Listen to that sizzle!
Step 12(Optional): Toward the end, melt the butter in the pan, and baste your fish liberally with melted butter.
Step 13: Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.
How’s that for a slice of fried gold?
Well, I hope this went swimmingly for you. Let minnow how it goes!