
It can be frustrating cooking for the hubs and Lil L. The husband prefers his food doused in chillies, absolutely no Indian curries and A LOT of meat. In that order. Meanwhile, Lil L must've been a rabbit in her other life. Plenty of veggies but they must be green. No other color will do. God forbid if a chilly should pass her lips. And plenty of fish. There are only 3 in our household. Imagine having 4 kids and a hubby who all have different tastebuds! In that case, I might go on strike and the rascals can fend for themselves.
When I was living in Christchurch (New Zealand), there was a little fish and chips shop right across the street. Initially, I was very pleased to be within a stone's throw from a fast food shop. I mean what 18 year old likes to cook when there are far more exciting things to do? The only problem was the wind would blow in a certain direction. Right towards my bedroom window. For the next 4 years. Yup. Joy. Let's just say, I did not touch fish OR chips for the next decade.
I had a few fillets of tilapia and pollock in the freezer. Lil L announced that she was positively dying for fish and chips. I for one, have no idea how to make the typical English style fish and chips BUT seeing that I'm Asian, I thought I would try the Japanese version - Karaage. Here's a simple version which takes less than half an hour to jiffy up. It's even faster if you can rope in a few slaves, I mean kids to help you coat the fish cutlets. Serve with fries (I prefer McCains frozen fries) and salad. Judging by the moans of ecstasy and the rate the two scarfed down their food, I guess it was a huge hit.
We had some leftovers so I made fish sandwiches the next day. I bought half baked baguette which I shoved into the oven, slathered the hot and crunchy bread with aioli, piled the fish in and plenty of lettuce. Voila, another easy and simple lunch for the family.
Ingredients (serves 4)
500g white fish (tilapia, haddock or cod)
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
2 tablespoons of cooking sake or dry sherry or shaoxing wine
A few shakes of white pepper
A cup of cornflour
1 teaspoon (or more depending on your taste) of garlic granules (optional)
4-6 cups of sunflower oil
1. Cut the fish into small pieces (approximately 2 inches by 2 inches). Marinade the fish in light soy sauce, white pepper and wine for 5-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add the garlic granules into a bowl of cornflour and mix thoroughly.
3. Coat the pieces of fish in the cornflour mixture.
4. Deep fry for 5-8 minutes depending on how thick the cutlets are.
OMG, such a great idea, my whole family would love this. We all love the traditional fish and chips but having an Oriental alternative is always good!
ReplyDeleteI am that person and my OH likes what your one does!
ReplyDeleteThat's great that Lil L loves veggies. I laughed out loud at "imagine having four kids and a hubby with different tastebuds." My parents used to say it all the time. I'm a vegetarian (I've never been into meat) but my brothers love chicken and fish.
ReplyDeleteI have the same headaches with my kiddos having different taste buds! Sometimes I feel like I make ten different meals before it's all said and done. These look delicious!
ReplyDeleteI'm very lucky in that my BF and I have the same taste in food (our cats like our food too believe it or not) and we have no fussy children (yet). I made chicken karaage once. We decided that it was so good that I made it again and again (so much crunchier then regular batter). Then we decided that it was time to step away from the deep fryer. Have not tried fish karaage yet - maybe it's time for us to take the deep frier out of the cabinet? hehe
ReplyDeleteOMG! This looks mouth-watering delicious! You make me crave for fish & chips now! :) I am happy that my bf and I have similar taste. And since I am always the one cooking, he will have to eat whatever I cook for him, hehe! :)
ReplyDeleteMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteNow I am craving fish & chips! This looks awesome. Thanks for the recipe!!
ReplyDeleteThis fish & chips sound delish, yummy yummy ! I must give it a try very, very soon !!! I m happy to be back from holidays and read your blog again :))) xx
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't look at this right before bed. Now I will go to bed hungry!
ReplyDeleteIn any case, just dropped you an email on travelling in Czech :)
Looks so yummy Marlene! Happy to hear it was a hit! Delish!
ReplyDeletexxTheresa
yours look great Marlene! i'm always hearing about the English fish and chips! i like that you've incorporated your Asian influence and twist on the meal. i went to school next to a donut shop. hahaha i would smell donuts every frickin day! hahahaha so i understand how you feel. have a great week!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.averysweetblog.com/
YOUR FRIES LOOK SO CRUNCHY! I MAKE FRIES AT HOME TOO BUT USING THE NO/LESS OIL FRYER BY TEFAL CALLED ACTIFRY AND WHILE THEY ARE HEALTHY, THEY ARE NOT CRUNCHY AND LACK OF TASTE.. I GUESS FRIES WITHOUT FRY IS NO FRIES, RIGHT? I'M BOOK-MARKING THIS RECIPE AND WILL TRY ONE OF THESE DAYS :)
ReplyDeleteMRS JACK OF ALL TRADES DAILY where Fashion and Food collide!
Latest post : SPLASHES OF COLORS
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looks like comfort food. i love eat these type of foods. :)
ReplyDeletehave a great week!
kisses,
jasmine
AdamAlexMommy
First of all, your pictures turned out so well. Whenever I hpotograph a bunch of brown food, it never looks amazing like this.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I had no idea there was a Japanese version of fishand chips, but it looks and sounds wonderful.
*Erin
No, I didn't know there was an asian version of fish and chips too. Will tell the hubs to get on with making it when he next asks me what I want for my dinner. Does look utterly scrummy though. But then all your food does. And yes, I live in one of those houses where we all like different things. Hubs wants chillies or chilli oil on everything, Ben is a carnivore, George is a rice and noodle fiend and I've got to the point, I'll just have what's left over because I just don't want to think about it any more!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like the best fish and chips I've ever seen! I often crave it but nothing worse than things dripping in fat. I think I need another trip to see you just to sample your cooking again!
ReplyDeletexx Mandi
www.findmeamuse.com
When I first looked at the photo, I thought man, that's some good portion control...It looks pretty yummy, especially doing it Japanese style. - Aliya :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so yummy! I’ve been trying to think of some new fun dinner recipes - i’m definitely making this!!
ReplyDeletexo everything-pretty.com
if I weren't already hungry now I'm officially STARVING. Wow this looks great.
ReplyDeleteSheinside GIVEAWAY
Oh, I love fish and chips. Fried, tilapia fish is always delicious, and it makes me feel slightly better when I eat that fried (since it's fish). XD
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the recipe!
♥ xixia | thisisxixia.com
Look delicious! Thanks for sharing, M! I need to try this soon:)
ReplyDeleteYou have trained your lil girl well in loving veggies!
I've not tried fish karaage but I love making chicken karaage, it's absolutely delicious. And how funny about living near a fish and chip shop, the smell would have put me off too!
ReplyDeleteJust scrolling down for a good old catch-up! I can never never pass up a plateful of "fush and chups" and these look scrum. I'm a good Kiwi girl till the end (second in line...meat pies)
ReplyDeleteThat looks yummy! I so miss good fish and chips from home... Eaten straight out of the paper on the beach as the sun is going down... Fun times!
ReplyDelete