Battered Fish and Chips with Kimchi Mayo

My classic fish and chips is a real Friday-night winner, and is given an extra kick of flavour from kimchi mayo. Try serving it with a dry white wine, like our Classics Grüner Veltliner – its aromas of apple, elderflower and ginger pair perfectly with the flaky cod.

Fish and chips

Ingredients

Serves 4

For the chips

2 litres chicken stock
4-6 medium Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm chips
2 tbsp duck fat
4 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked

For the fish

4 cod fillets
100g cornflour, plus an extra 2 tbsp seasoned with salt and pepper
100g plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 flat tsp baking powder
75ml lager, chilled
150ml vodka, chilled
1 bag (80g) watercress
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges, to serve

For the condiments

400g mayonnaise with extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zest and juice
3 tbsp kimchi, drained
3-4 gherkins, drained and roughly chopped
Handful parsley, roughly chopped

Method

Put a large metal bowl into the freezer – you’ll use this for making the batter later. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6.
First, make the chips. In a large pan, bring the stock to the boil. Meanwhile, put the potato chips into a colander and rinse under running water for a few minutes, or until the water runs clear.
Put the chips into the pan of boiling stock and cook for 8-10 mins, or until just tender. Drain in a colander and shake gently to roughen the edges.
Transfer the chips to a large baking tray and dot over the duck fat. Sprinkle with the rosemary and season, then cook for 40-45 minutes, turning halfway through.
Meanwhile, divide the mayonnaise between two bowls. Mix one with the zest and juice of ½ the lemon and add the rest of the lemon juice, kimchi, gherkins and parsley to the other. Stir and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
To make the fish, pat the cod fillets dry with kitchen paper and coat with the seasoned cornflour, dusting off any excess.
Preheat a generous glug of oil (enough to deep-fry the fish) to 175°C-180°C in either a deep fat fryer or large pan.
Put the dry ingredients for the fish, along with a good sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper, into the metal bowl you’ve been keeping in the freezer. Whisk in the chilled lager and vodka.
Using tongs to hold the fish, coat each fillet in the batter, then gently lower into the pan with the hot oil, holding onto them for the first 30 seconds or so to prevent them sinking to the bottom and sticking. Cook the fillets two at a time, frying for around 5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve each piece of fish with some of the chips, lemon mayo, kimchi mayo, watercress and a lemon wedge.

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