Fish ‘n’ chips
In England where it originated, the takeaway (takeout) fish and chips dish is considered a working class meal that became popular in the 1800s with the development of trawl fishing. Cheap, fast and widely available. Some versions simply require the fish strips to be dredged in flour while others say it should be dipped in batter before frying. I sort of combine the two techniques. I do not pat the fish dry, then I add flour and mix them together so that the effect is not lightly dusted fish but fillets covered in a pasty coating. It’s almost like dipping the fish in batter except that you do away with the risk of having parts of the batter separate from the fish during frying. The coating turns crispier that way and it is more substantial too. The drawback, of course, is that you get more oil in the fried fish as well.
The “chips” refer to the potatoes, of course. Potato chips except that we associate the term potato chips with thinly sliced potatoes. The chips in fish and chips are more like French fries although they are cut in larger pieces.
The traditional accompaniment for fish and chips are salt and vinegar although gravy, ketchup and mustard are common too. We like our home made version of tartar sauce.
Serves 4 to 5.
Ingredients :
500 g. of fish fillets (I used tilapia)
salt
pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 to 3/4 c. of flour
500 g. of potatoes
about 3 c. of vegetable cooking oil for deep frying
For the dipping sauce :
1/2 c. of mayonnaise
2 to 3 tbsps. of milk
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. of Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. of finely grated garlic
1/2 tsp. of finely sliced onion leaves
juice of a quarter of a lemon
Cut the fish into strips about three inches long and half an inch wide. Place in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add the flour and mix. If the fish is still wet and sticky, add more flour until the fish strips no longer stick together.
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut into strips. Soak in water until ready to cook to avoid discoloration.
Heat the cooking oil. Fry the fish strips, in batches if necessary, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and keep warm.
Reheat the cooking oil until smoking. Fry the potatoes until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels.
To make the dipping sauce, just place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
Arrange the fish and chips side by side on a plate. Fill a small saucer with the dipping sauce and serve on the side.
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The idea of Tilapia fillets was alien to me till Billy, an American colleague, told me how he’d served breaded fillets to his girlfriend du nuit. I asked what sort of fish and he said Tilapia. I was shocked. You know how you sort of do things the same way all your life and then somebody shows you it can be done a different way? I ran to Nepa Q Mart and saw that there were 1 kg sized Tilapia. Still doubtful, I asked the fishmonger to fillet it and by golly he did! He asked if skin-on or skin-off. I ordered skin-on. Still doubtful, I took the fillets home, breaded them and fried them. It works! Amazing!
LOL Who would have thought, eh? Sometimes, we get used to cooking a fish a certain way and never know that we can do so much more with it. Tilapia is now an international star and a recommended fish in many weight-loss diets. Recommended for athletes too.
can i use calamansi instead of lemon? on the same note, when are they not interchangeable?
Yes, you can. You’ll have to adjust the amount though.
Re “when are they not interchangeable”
When you are after the lemony aroma that kalamansi does not have.
Hi Ms Connie! Another wonderfully tasty dish you cooked up here. I made it for family this evening and it was a hit! But I had to use regular yellow mustard as that’s the only thing I have right now in the ref. But it still worked fine. My dad loves mustard and I ha to make more of the dip because it was gone in no time.
God Bless!
hi, Ms. Connie! i just loved it! i tried it right after i got your email, and my husband just loved it! he said it’s very good appetizer. my kids love fish a lot esp. tilapia and it’s never been a problem feeding them such as this. you truly inspire me. thanks again for your weekly recipes. i never run out of idea on what will i cook for them. God bless!
hi connie. would want to know where to buy dijon mustard? can’t find it sa robinsons supermarket and cherry fooderama. probably u can suggest where to buy and the brand also? thank you!
I just bought one at Robinson’s Metro East last Sunday. Perhaps, you’re looking at the wrong section? And Dijon mustard is not a brand but a variety of prepared mustard.
hi, can I borrow your ingredients for the dipping sauce? please advice soon thanks
What do you mean by “borrow”? Repost? Why can’t you just link to this page? Reposting is not personal use anymore.
Hi! I checked out your recipe for Fish N’ Chips, and this seems like a great substitute for the original way it’s done, considering it’s much more accessible for Filipinos and much easier. I just have one question though, I’ve noticed in other recipes that they include beer in their batter. What would be the difference in not having beer in the batter as compared to those that have beer? Thanks and Godbless!
I really don’t know since I haven’t tried cooking it with beer.