Martin Shanahan's Homemade Fish and Chips

Method

1. This is a wonderfully light tempura style batter which helps the fish to steam in its own juices while the outside gets brown and crispy.
2. Prepare the batter about twenty minute or so before you are ready to cook and leave in the fridge to settle. If you use fresh oil when cooking your meal the batter never feels heavy or greasy.
3. Put the 225g flour into a large bowl, add the corn flour and the salt and mix gently.
4. You don’t have to be exact you’ll get a feel for it once you’ve cooked the dish once.
5. Then simply add the sparkling water little by little while stirring gently with a whisk. When the batter will coat the back of a spoon it’s ready. If it’s too watery add a little flour if it’s too stodgy add a little water.
6. It will bubble up as you whisk don’t worry this is what makes the batter light and airy. It’s all in the bubbles.
7. You don’t need to whisk it perfectly as some lumps of flour will add to the crunch once cooked. Put it in the fridge for twenty minutes or so. It couldn’t be simpler.
8. Skin the potatoes and cut into thin slices. Rinse in cold water and dry thoroughly in a tea towel. Heat the oil in a pot or chip pan to 150°C.
9. Par cook the chips for 5 minutes or until soft in the middle. Leave to one side to cool.

Preparing the Fish:

1. When you get your fish from the fish monger make sure you ask him for ‘four fillets of cod for fish and chips no skin and no bone please’. When you get your fillets home cut them into smaller pieces of roughly equal size.
2. Like a large fish finger. It helps with the cooking and makes them look nice on the plate. A large piece of fish can often mean the batter cooks too quickly while the fish inside is left semi-raw. Smaller pieces cook more evenly and take less time.
3. Turn your oil up to about 190°C.
4. Add the a pinch of sea salt to the remaining flour. Take your pieces of fish and dip in the flour. Shake off the excess flour and dip in the batter.
5. Then it’s into your oil for five minutes. Don’t move the fish for the first two minutes let it cook, then turn over and cook for the remaining three or four minutes.
6. Take one of the pieces out and break to check if it’s cooked, this is the ‘cook's delight’. You can have that on the side while you wait for the fish to finish, it’s one of the perks of the job.
7. Finish off your chips in the same oil for about 2 minutes they are already cooked so they just need to brown up and get crispy.
8. Place the fish and the chips onto some kitchen paper to take off any excess oil and serve with some tartar sauce brown sauce or ketchup. Yum.