Everyone knows that Americans came up with fast food. But this does not mean that if the composition of the dish includes french fries, then it certainly applies to American cuisine. This statement can be given a complete refutation. We offer you to cook an unofficial national English dish, which includes deep-fried fish and french fries. Fish and Chips is a dish that combines the culinary traditions of different countries and at the same time is an integral part of English cuisine. We will talk about how to cook fish with potatoes in our article.
Dish history
It is not known for certain where the French fries and fish in batter came from in English cuisine . It is assumed that the tradition of deep-fried potatoes came from France, but fish is a local product, the preparation of which at that time was very much. But it is known for sure that this dish became national in the 19th century. At this time, no other dish could compare with Fish and Chips in popularity.
Initially, instead of potatoes, the dish included fried bread, but by the beginning of the First World War its reserves were significantly reduced, as a result of which this ingredient was replaced by more affordable potatoes. The popularity of the dish declined only by the end of the 20th century, but even today in London alone it is consumed about 60 thousand tons of fish and 500 thousand tons of potatoes.
There are a lot of eateries offering their visitors this dish in different countries of the world. And in August, in the Italian city of Barga, a special Fish & Chips festival is held annually as a sign of friendship with the UK.
How to cook the original English fish and chips
Despite the fact that fish and chips are included in the menu of almost every diner, this dish is still considered a kind of street food that can be bought in special mobile trays. According to the English version, pieces of fish and potatoes are necessarily wrapped in newsprint or magazine paper. If desired, and at home, you can cook no less delicious fish-end-chips.
The recipe for cooking involves the use of fresh fish of very good quality. Cod is best suited. You can also use other varieties of fish with white meat: flounder, haddock, pollock. Fatty fish - salmon, trout and salmon - will not work. Potatoes should also be of a certain grade - large and un-friable, which retains its shape when frying.
Particular attention is paid to batter. Dark English Ale and sifted flour of the highest grade are added to it. But the oil can be used the most ordinary, sunflower or corn. But it should be a lot. When preparing a quality meal, saving will be inappropriate.
How to fry fish in batter for fish and chips
The main secret of a delicious fish batter is to cool all the ingredients well before kneading the dough. To do this, sifted flour (400 g) is sent to the freezer for 15 minutes, and ale or beer (550 ml) for at least 1 hour.
While the ingredients for the batter are cooled, the fish is prepared. Fillet of cod or pollock is cut into long slices of 2-3 cm thick and dried on a paper towel. Vegetable oil is heated in a fryer or in a frying pan to 185 ° C. To prepare batter in a deep bowl, flour, baking powder (3 teaspoons) and salt (½ teaspoon) are mixed. Then ice ale is added and the dough for fish and chips is kneaded.
You can start cooking the dish. Pieces of fish are dipped in cold batter and laid out in a preheated pan with plenty of oil. Fish is fried for about 5 minutes on both sides, after which it is immediately transferred to a plate covered with a paper towel so that excess fat is absorbed.
English Potato Recipe
Potatoes for fish and chips are well washed, peeled and cut into long sticks with a thickness of not more than 1.5 cm. After that, the potatoes are poured for 15 minutes with cold water. This allows you to get rid of excess starch, due to which the cubes boil out and lose their shape. Then the potatoes are dried and only after that they start frying.
Dried potato wedges are rolled in starch and spread in one layer on a wire rack or in a sieve. Then it is dipped in boiling vegetable oil (temperature 185 ° C). Potatoes are fried for about 5 minutes, after which they are laid out on parchment and allowed to drain excess fat.
Fish & Chips Garnish
In restaurants and fast food establishments, a side dish is always served with potatoes with fish. At the buyer's choice, pea puree, tomato stewed beans, pickled cucumbers or onions can be offered. But tea is traditionally served as a drink in the UK, since licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages are not issued to English eateries.
Fish and potatoes to taste are in perfect harmony with green peas. To prepare such a side dish at home, it is necessary to fry finely chopped mint and green onions in butter. After a couple of minutes, fresh green peas are added to the greens. Then the ingredients are fried for another 5-7 minutes. Then the peas and greens are transferred to the blender bowl and chopped with butter to a puree state.
Fish & Chips: Jamie Oliver's Recipe
As a true Englishman, Jamie Oliver knows how to cook fish and potatoes according to the original recipe, although with its own unique additions. For example, it is with the preparation of chips that his recipe for fish and chips begins.
Then the dish is prepared in the following sequence:
- Large potatoes are peeled (optional) and cut into 1-by 1-cm sticks.
- Sliced potatoes are laid out on a wire rack in one layer and deep-fried in a large amount of oil.
- Jar Jamie Oliver makes a batter from a glass of flour with a volume of 250 ml, a glass of dark cold beer, a pinch of salt, 1 egg yolk and protein whipped in a strong foam. The batter turns out to be moderately thick, uniform and airy. It can be used for cooking not only fish, but also vegetables, meat and other products.
- Fish fillet with white meat is lowered into a bowl with batter and dipped well on all sides. The famous English chef does not cut the fish into pieces, but dips it in dough in a large piece.
- Fish batter in batter is dipped in boiling oil for 4 minutes.
- Potatoes and fish are laid out on baking paper and sprinkled with sea salt.
Jamie Oliver serves mashed peas, pickled egg and gherkin to fish and potatoes.
Fish & Chips by Gordon Ramsay
In the chain of restaurants of Gordon Ramsay, fish and chips (recipe below) is served with tartar sauce, mayonnaise or ketchup. The visitor chooses the sauce on his own to his taste. It turns out a very tasty fish and chips.
The recipe for cooking is to perform the following sequence of actions:
- Cod or pangasius fish fillet is cut into long pieces 2 cm wide (in appearance the pieces resemble a tongue), dried on paper, and then crumbled in sifted flour.
- Potatoes are cut into slices 1 cm thick.
- Preparing a batter from sifted flour, beer, salt and a pinch of turmeric. The dough should be moderately thick, stretch well, and not drain from the fish.
- Put the potatoes in a deep fryer with oil preheated to 180 ° C. Next fish is laid out in batter.
- Ready-made potato chips and fried fish are laid out on a plate and served with sauce or wrapped in a newspaper sheet.
Homemade Fish & Chips with Tartar Sauce
Tourists who visited the UK and tried real English fast food, believe that it can be reproduced at home.
How to cook fish and chips, we will tell in a step-by-step instruction:
- Young potatoes are well washed, cut directly into the skin into thick cubes, laid out in a bowl and filled with cold water.
- Fish fillet is cut into small pieces.
- Preparing batter. To do this, 170 g of sifted flour are mixed with 50 g of starch, 1 egg yolk is added, a pinch of salt and 80 ml of dark beer are poured. Last of all, whipped into a thick foam proteins are added to the batter.
- Preparing tartar sauce. To do this, in a deep bowl, 4 boiled egg yolks are mashed using a fork, mustard (1 tablespoon), lemon juice (2 tablespoons), olive oil (3 tablespoons), finely chopped gherkins and olives are added.
- Dried potatoes are fried in vegetable oil. Separately fried, cut into small pieces of cod in batter.
Served dish with homemade tartar sauce.
Fish & Chips Without Beer
If you do not drink beer, this is not a reason to refuse to prepare a traditional English dish. A batter for fish fillet can be prepared differently. Regardless of this, you will get a very tasty fish and chips.
The recipe for batter is as follows: flour is sifted into a bowl, then a baking powder, a pinch of salt and a glass of iced sparkling water are added. It turns out a homogeneous and the same air batter, because its whole secret is in air bubbles, which are present both in sparkling water and in beer. Then fish and french fries are prepared according to the recipes already described above.