I’ve recently been doing a bit of recipe development for a catering collaberation and this was one of the ideas that I was most keen to try. I’d seen a little while ago in a Korean cookbook a technique where the chef would use vodka in their batter to get a super crunchy and uber light crust and thought now was a good a time as any to try it out. I was pleased to realise that this method worked really well and the batter was indeed really light and crazy crunchy. I used hake, which is a mild white fish with a flakey texture, holds up to frying really well and is a very sustainable option. However haddock, cod, pollock or whiting are some great alternatives.
I’m really in to this recipe, as it a great contrast in textures and also spikes the palates interest with sweet, sour and salty flavour profiles against the back drop of the crisp batter, flaky fish and roasted garlic aioli. I actually enjoyed this so much that I couldn’t help but eat all 12 of them back to back. Probably my ultimate snack at the moment.
Equipment; Disk cutter, whisk, round bottom bowls, high sided saucepan or deep fat fryer, pastry brush, kitchen foil, baking tray, temperature probe.
Fish;
220 g skinless hake fillet
75 g plain flour
75 g corn flour
2 g salt
3 g baking powder
80 ml vodka
40 ml cold sparkling water (plus extra to loosen if needed)
Gochujung Chilli Paste;
10 g Gochujung Chilli Paste
3 ml sesame oil
33 ml dark soy sauce
oil for deep frying
Roast Garlic Aioli;
1 garlic bulb
5 ml olive oil
2 free range egg yolks
250 grams vegetable oil
250 ml sunflower oil
10 ml white wine vinegar
5 g dijon mustard
salt
Garnish;
4 tortillas
12 coriander leaves
1 spring onion. julienned
5 g sesame seeds
1 lime
Roast Garlic Aioli;
- Preheat an oven to 140 celsius.
- With a knife, remove the very top of the garlic bulb, pour over the olive oil, season with a little salt and wrap in foil. Place in the oven to slowly roast for 45 minutes. Once soft, remove and allow to cool.
- Whilst the garlic is roasting make the mayonnaise. Place 2 egg yolks in a round bottom bowl with the mustard and vinegar. Whisk vigorously to incorporate a little air and volume. – NB – This will make the emulsification process easier and will greatly reduce your chance of splitting the mayonnaise.
- Continue to whisk and slowly begin to pour in the oil to emulsify.
- As you continue to add the oil the yolks and oil will start to thicken, creating a delicious all purpose mayonnaise.
- Once cool, squeeze the soft garlic out on to a chopping board and smear across the board using the blade of a knife to smooth out.
- Once smooth add the garlic to the mayonnaise, fold in and season to taste with salt.
- Place in a piping bag or squeeze bottle until ready to use.
Gochujung Chilli Paste;
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Fish;
- In a high sided saucepan or deep fat fryer heat the oil to 175 celsius.
- Cut the hake into 12 equal portions.
- In a bowl add the dry ingredients, followed by the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine until a smooth batter is achieved. I look for a consistency that is a somewhere between double cream and melted chocolate, that will leave a slight ribbon when dropped from the whisk and will coat the back of a spoon.
- Submerge the hake in the batter to coat well before removing and allowing the excess to drip off before carefully lowering the fish in to the hot oil and frying until crisp circa 3 minutes. It is best to do this in batches as the fish portions may stick to one another and to avoid the oil temperature dropping too much.
- Once cooked place on kitchen paper to drain.
Finish;
- Using a disk cutter stack the tortillas and cut 12 6cm disks before toasting on both sides in a dry pan.
- In the centre of each tortilla squeeze some aioli. Place the hake on top before brushing each piece of hake with gochujung chilli paste. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and top wth spring onion, coriander and a squeeze of lime.
- Serve immediately to delighted friends and family or kick back and pig out.
FORKIN DELICIOUS 