Ingredients:
2-3 large potatoes
1 tilapia fillet
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
2 eggs
2 cups vegetable oil
Here’s a recipe for the iconic dish of fish and chips. This is easy and quick to put together to give yourself a treat for dinner. And this recipe has a little twist: instead of using the traditional cod, it uses tilapia. Tilapia is a light-flavour fish that’s cheaper and cooks very quickly. This recipe also uses the shallow-fry technique; please read the instructions carefully to prevent injuring yourself with hot oil or fire, and have a fire extinguisher close by.
Preheat the oven to 475 F. Then, peel 2 or 3 large potatoes and cut them into quarters. Cut the quarters in half, making sure to cut along the length of the potato. Then place your potato wedges into boiling water and cook for about five minutes. Place the drained wedges on a lined baking sheet and spray them with oil spray. Sprinkle some seasoning salt and put them in the oven for 15 minutes.
To make the breading station, set aside one bowl for the dry ingredients. Put in the 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp seasoning salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, and 1/4 tsp pepper and thoroughly mix together. In the wet bowl, whisk 2 eggs together.
To bread the fish, cover all the sides of the fish in the egg dredge. Then, with one hand, place the egg-coated tilapia into the breading bowl. Make sure all sides are coated in the breading, using the non-wet hand. Gently dust off the excess. With the wet hand, give the fish another coating of egg. Place the fish back in the breading bowl for the final coat.
Put 2 cups of vegetable oil in a cast-iron pan. Set the stove to medium-high. If you have a thermometer, make sure the temperature reaches 375 F. If you don’t have a thermometer, you’ll know the oil has reached temperature when the surface of the oil appears shimmery, and when you drop in a clump of breading it floats and sizzles.
Place the tilapia gently into the oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the breading turns golden brown. Gently flip the fish with tongs and let it cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. I recommend using a mesh oil catcher to help prevent oil splattering during the cooking.
When done cooking, let the tilapia drain on a paper towel and cool for a little bit.
Top the fish with a little extra salt and plate with your potato wedges. And—ta-da!—you have fish and chips.
It tastes great with a little lemon and tartar sauce, but I personally enjoy my fish and chips with a good helping of plum sauce.