Channel your inner Gordon Ramsay and learn to prepare this crispy and flavorful dish. You can choose from the likes of an easier, more traditional recipe served with some delicious mushy peas on the side or add a new twist with tempura-battered cod and a spicy wasabi tartar sauce. We have also included beer battered fish and chips recipes made famous by On The Hook, and, of course, there’s an air fryer option for those of you with no time to spare.
National Fish and Chips Day is celebrated in the UK on the first Friday of June every year. It commemorates the staple dish that originated from a mix of Iberian immigrants’ love for fried fish and the British appetite for potatoes. Today, there are over 10,000 fish and chip shops in the UK. So let’s explore some of the most famous fish and chips recipes, far more wholesome than anything you’ll find on Uber Eats or Deliveroo!
1. Fish and Chips Recipes – Classic Fish and Chips
Let’s start off with the classic fish and chips recipe, then. A mainstay of the British working class diet ever since the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea in the 1800s, the dish was one of the few foods not to be rationed by Winston Churchill’s government during the Second World War, so as not to impact morale. The key to any good fish and chips recipe is the batter. Any white fish fillet will do here, be it cod, haddock, or pollock. They are served alongside chunky chips and mushy peas. Serves 4.
Ingredients
For the fish and chips:
- 225 g white fish fillets
- Sunflower oil
- 900 g potatoes
- 225g plain flour, plus a little extra
- 3 heaped teaspoons baking powder.
- 285 ml milk
For the mushy peas:
- 1 knob of unsalted butter
- 4 handfuls of podded peas
- a few sprigs of fresh mint
- ½ a lemon
Recipe
For fish and chips:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Peel and slice the potatoes into chips.
- Pour the sunflower oil into a deep fat fryer or a frying pan and heat it to 190 °C.
- Mix half a teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper together and use it to season the fish fillets on both sides, which helps to remove excess water.
- Whisk the flour, milk and baking powder together until the texture is like semi-whipped double cream.
- Each fish fillet is first lightly dusted with the extra flour before being dipped into the batter and letting any excess fall off. It depends on the size of your fryer or pan on how many fish you can cook at once.
- Holding one end, gently lower the fish into the oil one at a time, working carefully so you don’t get splattered.
- Cook for 4 minutes, or until the batter is golden and crisp and the fish is well cooked before removing to kitchen paper to drain.
- Parboil the chips for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they are softened but still maintain their shape, in boiling, salted water, then drain and steam dry.
- Fry the chips at 180°C in the same oil as the fish was cooked in until golden and crisp.
- Transfer the fish from the kitchen paper to a baking tray while the chips are frying. They will stay crisp while you finish the chips if you finish cooking them in the oven for a few minutes.
- When the chips are finished cooking, drain them on paper towels, salt them, and then serve them with the fish and mushy peas. Pickled onions (if your other half isn’t around! ), crunchy sweet pickled gherkins, and pickled chillies are also wonderful to have on the table. You then want to completely cover it with some inexpensive malt vinegar.
For the mushy peas:
- The mint leaves should be picked and minced. Over low heat, add the butter, peas, and mint to the pan. Cover, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- You may either mash the peas by hand or in a food processor until mushy, thick, and ideal for dipping your fish in. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Warm them up until required.
Looking to try out more fish recipes? Check out our classic and easy fish recipes from around the world: https://cooking24h.com/2022/04/26/classic-and-easy-fish-recipes-from-around-the-world/
2. Fish and Chips Recipes – Air Fryer fish and chips
One of the main advantages of using an air fryer is that is significantly healthier. An air fryer uses substantially less oil than when deep-frying. It also takes a lot less time to cook, ideal for when you’re in a rush. Serves 4.
Ingredients
For the chips:
- 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into fries
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the fish:
- 425 g white fish, cut into 2-inch strips
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 125 g flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 115g breadcrumbs
- lemon wedge, for serving
- tartar sauce, for serving
Recipe
Fish:
- Put the cod on a chopping board and use paper towels to blot it dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- In a small bowl, combine the paprika, 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and the flour. In a separate shallow bowl, beat the eggs. To a third shallow bowl, add the breadcrumbs.
- Next, shake off any excess flour before coating the cod with the eggs and breadcrumbs, being sure to completely cover each piece.
- Following the completion of the fries, add a few pieces of cod to the air fryer at a time, ensuring they do not touch, and cook for 10 minutes, or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Salt the cod after transferring it to a serving plate. Repeat
- With lemon wedges and tartar sauce, serve the fish and chips.
Chips:
- To make the chips, combine the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large basin and stir to combine.
- Preheat the air fryer to 200°C of temperature. Spray some nonstick spray on the basket.
- Fries should be placed in the basket in a single layer, with no fries touching, and cooked for 12 minutes or until they are soft and golden brown. Place the fries on a platter covered with paper towels and sprinkle with salt. The remaining potatoes should be repeated.
3. Fish and Chips Recipes – Beer battered fish and chips
This beer battered fish and chips recipe is what helped two engineering students spread the culinary excellence of fish served with chips/fries to the USA. Nowadays, ‘On The Hook‘ is a multi-truck enterprise that serves fish and chips to hundreds of thousands across the central United States. The key here is to use a good beer. I recommend Guinness, but any stout or lager will do. Just don’t use an IPA as the aggressive hops can leave a bitter aftertaste. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 500ml Guinness beer
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- All purpose flour
- 8 3-ounce cutlets of white fish
Recipe
- The beer, baking soda, salt, pepper, and egg should all be added to a large mixing basin. Add flour gradually, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thick, not runny, and clings to a wooden spoon.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or in a deep sauté pan to 350 degrees Celsius. Fish should be coated on both sides with batter after being dredged in flour, excess flour being shaken off.
- Holding the battered fish halfway into the heated oil, carefully lower it into the oil for 15 seconds. This will ensure the fish doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Finally, depending on the thickness of the fillets, turn the fish over when it begins to brown on one side and cook it for a total of 6 to 8 minutes. The fish should have a single color throughout and an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Served with French fries and tartar sauce,
4. Fish and Chips Recipes – Asian-style fish and chips
Expand your taste buds beyond the North Atlantic with an Asian twist on the traditional Fish and Chips Recipe. This dish is cooked in a scrumptious tempura batter and the tartar sauce is given a spicy kick with wasabi. Serves 2.
Ingredients
- 100g white miso paste
- 2 teaspoons golden caster sugar
- 3 tabslespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2-3 white fish fillets (about 350g), boneless and skinless
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 100g thinly sliced rainbow radishes
- 2 large sweet potatoes cut into chunky chips
- cooking oil
- 1/2 lime , cut into wedges
For the tempura batter
- 100g cornflour
- 140g plain flour , plus 100g extra for coating
- 200ml soda water
For the wasabi tartar sauce
- 1 teaspoon wasabi
- 140g mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped capers
- 1 small finely chopped shallot
- ¼ small pack coriander, chopped
Recipe
- Mix the miso paste with 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a large bowl. Turn the fish fillets over in the marinade to coat them completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
- Next, put the radishes, remaining vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl with the black sesame seeds. Give the pickles at least 30 minutes to cure.
- Combine all the ingredients for the wasabi tartar sauce and season to taste. Until needed, set away or chill in the refrigerator.
- In the meantime, place the sweet potato chips in a big pot of salted cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 7-8 minutes, or until just barely tender. After draining, steam-dry for 2 minutes.
- Next, Pour the oil into a big pan and fill it up about two-thirds of the way. Place over a medium-high heat until an oil temperature probe reads 180C. (or until a piece of bread crisps up in 20 secs). In the meantime, combine the flours and gradually mix in the soda water to produce the tempura batter. Before using, whisk the batter until it is lump-free.
- After the oil reaches the proper temperature, fry the sweet potato chips in batches for about 5 minutes, or until they are golden and fully cooked. While you cook the fish, transfer to a baking pan, season with salt, and keep warm in a low oven.
- Pour some seasoned flour onto a plate. Dip the fish fillets in it and shake off the excess. Dip into the batter and fry in the same oil as the chips for 3-4 mins, until the batter is golden and the fish is cooked. Drain on paper towels.
- Finally, serve with the chips, wasabi tartar, pickled radishes, and squeeze the lime wedges over the fish.
5. Fish and Chips Recipes – Gluten free fish and chips
Lastly, we have the gluten-free option. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- Same as option number 1, but replace flour with gluten-free flour.
Recipe
- Same as above
Check out https://www.natura.be/en if you want to save some time by ordering tartar sauce.