Fish and Chips with Tartar Sauce

Let’s make England’s favorite national dish, Fish and Chips with Tartar Sauce! Crispy and golden brown flakey outside and tender inside. Perfect flavorful taste with a serving of crunchy chips and tartar sauce. No need to find the restaurant of fish and chips, just made it at home.

Two days ago, I went to the supermarket for grocery shopping. I usually buy the needs once a month. Yet, it will be more if I need something that I crave. When I was in the supermarket, I saw a discount in the fresh fish ingredient sector. Many fish that was discount on that day. There are shrimp, squid, and other sea fish.

As a discount lover, I won’t pour money down the drain. I utilize this chance as much as possible. After that, I decided to buy the white meat fish fillet. I bought codfish and dory fish. It was a discount of up to 50%. Even I didn’t think about what should I cook with these ingredients, I still bought them.

After arriving at home, I store them in the freezer. Unaware, I kept them in the freezer for some days. It became frozen. Haha. I don’t know why I have a drawing blank. Remember again the ingredients when I saw the actress in the film was eating fish and chips. It looked yummy. Yet, what I really crave is tartar sauce. Sour pickle is a really fresh mixture in the creamy mayonnaise sauce.

What are fish and chips?

Actually, in their home country of England, people know fish and chips are boneless fried fish and potato chips. However, in Indonesia, people interpret these chips as fried potatoes. This dish is served with tartar sauce and lemon juice to complete it.

Is it from England?

Refugees from Portugal and Spain who were in England in the 1830s were actually the ones who started introducing this food. Then in the 1860s, the first outlets selling fish and chips appeared in London. The owner is Joseph Mlin. This outlet sells simple fish and chips by frying on a large skillet filled with hot oil with coal fuel.

Uniquely, in the 2nd world war, this food was not considered a crime because the food seemed simple. Because of that food ii increasingly popular. Moreover, because of its savory and delicious taste, this food quickly entered the tongue of all people and spread to various regions and countries.

Serving Fish and Chips in Different Countries

The presentation of this popular food is growing and increasingly adapting to the tastes of each region. The presentation can be like this:

• The United States usually serves this with coleslaw. Coleslaw is a salad that uses cabbage as the basic ingredient topped with mayonnaise.
• Unlike in Canada, fish and chips in Canada have the addition of tartar sauce and a slice of lemon as a complement.
• While in New Zealand and Australia, people sprinkle salt on top of the fried fish to add to the savory taste.

There are more fish and chip restaurants than any other fast food outlet in the UK

Fish and chips are certainly very popular and in demand in their home country. Reporting from nfff.co.uk, in 1910 there were about 25,000 fish and chip shops and this increased to about 35,000 stores in 1927.

In addition, uniquely in the UK, there are more fish and chip shops than other world-famous fast food outlets such as McDonald’s which has 1,200 outlets, and KFC which has 840 outlets. Can you imagine how many fish and chips restaurants there are now?

Serving fish and chips from year to year

Apparently, the presentation of fish and chips has changed since it was first made. Here are some servings of fish and chips from year to year:

• Before 1980: Fish and chips wrapped in old newspaper. However, this presentation did not last long because it was considered unhealthy.
• 1990 to 2000: Fish and chips wrapped in a so-called designer newspaper.
• Today’s: Fish and chips are usually wrapped in cone-shaped disposable newspapers. If in a restaurant, usually only use grease and oil-resistant paper.

The Ingredients of
Fish and Chips with Tartar Sauce

Fried Fish

• Fish – Here I use dory fish because in my country this fish is popular because the texture same as cod. If you have cod, I prefer to use it. Also, you can use halibut, flounder, tilapia, pollock, whiting, or catfish.
• Garlic Powder and Onion Powder – Because the texture of the batter must be smooth, I use garlic and onion powder. If you chop, mince, or grate the onion and garlic, the texture of the batter won’t smooth.
• Seasoning – I use black pepper and sea salt. It’s only two seasonings because the fish has a savory and unique taste itself.
• Flour – A need for something to coat.
• Cornstarch – It is to make the batter crispier.
• Baking Soda – If you use this, the batter will expand and the result will be more crunchy.
• Water – some liquid to mix all the ingredients.
• Vegetable Oil – it is for frying.

Fried Chips

• Frozen French Fries – I use instant frozen french fries. Or, you can make it by yourself using potatoes.
• Sea Salt – Give some seasoning to taste the chips.
• Vegetable oil – to fry the chips. If you like, you can use other oil and method.

Tartar Sauce

• Mayonnaise – It is a must ingredient of tartar sauce. This will be the base of the sauce. I use usual or plain mayonnaise. There are some mayonnaise flavors in the market like spicy mayo, cheese mayo, etc.
• Pickle – This pickle is to enhance the tartness of tartar sauce. It will make the sauce fresher to suit the fried fish.
• Sugar – enhancing the savory.
• Lemon Juice – give a dash of fresh sour.
• Seasonings- I use salt and black pepper to taste.

How to Make
Fish and Chips with Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce

Cut the dill pickle into small dice.

In a small bowl add mayonnaise, dill pickle, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Fried Fish

In a bowl add flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, sea salt, baking soda, and water. Stir to combine.

Heat the frying pan used for frying potatoes on medium heat.

Coat the fish with the batter then fry until golden brown.

Store on a cooling rack.

Fried Chips

Prepare a frying pan with oil. Turn on the stove on medium heat.

Fry the potatoes until they are a little bit golden brown. Don’t crowd the pan, fry the potatoes in several batches.

Store on a cooling rack and sprinkle with sea salt.

Serve the fish and chips on plates and tartar sauce in a small serving bowl. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• You can add chili powder or hot sauce for a spicier taste.
• You can use other white meat fish such as tilapia, catfish, grouper, flounder, or other fish. Make sure you have filleted the fish.
• Dry the fish first by patting the fish with kitchen paper. It would be better if you season the fish first so that the taste of the fish is not fishy.
• I recommend sprinkling dry flour before coating the fish with the wet batter. This will help the batter stick to the fish more.
• Pay attention to the temperature of the oil during the frying process. Oil that’s too hot will make the fish wet inside, while if it’s too small, the batter will be soggy. Make sure the heat is moderate.
• I don’t reccomend to reheat or make ahead the fish and chips because the taste will be bad. The texture also becomes soggy.

What is the best oil to use in deep frying?

Here, I use vegetable oil because it is the easiest oil that I could find. Yet, if you want to use other oil, you can use oil that has a high heat point and suit well with the fried fish. Also, use the taste that doesn’t too sting and makes the taste of fish reduce because of the oil. It can be canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, or vegetable oil.

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