Ping Gai Chicken - Laotian "Grilled Chicken Chicken"

Virtually every beer batter fish recipe looks crispy coming out of the fryer, and some even stay crispy for a few minutes, but then the inevitable sogginess sets in, and by the time you take that last bite, you’re wondering why you just didn’t bake it. Well, with this simple formula, and a few easy tricks, you can achieve what many think impossible; a fried fish where the last bite is as crisp as the first.

The keys here are keeping your batter really cold, and your fish really dry. If you use frozen fish, make sure it’s fully thawed, and you’ve carefully blotted off any excess moisture, before giving it a light coating of starch. I like rice flour for this, but as I said in the video cornstarch, or potato starch will also work.

If you do want to season yours differently, you can apply whatever you want directly to the fish before it goes in the beer batter. Keep in mind that salt draws out water, so don’t go too heavy, and make sure your fish is as dry as possible before it gets dunked into your ice-cold batter. I generally keep things very simple, but the occasional spoon of Indian spice, or chili powder makes for a nice change of pace.

If you make your batter ahead, which is fine, be sure to keep it in the fridge, and if you’re doing a large number of portions, maybe place the batter over a bowl of ice, so it stays cold as you fry. Other than keeping things cold and dry, not much can go wrong, except maybe calling your “crisps” chips, which will definitely trigger your British friends. Anyway, they’ll be fine, and so will you after making this easy, and crispy-to-the-last-bite beer batter fish. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions Fish & Chips:

For the fish:

4 (six-ounce) pieces of boneless white fish, such as cod, haddock, etc., cut in half lengthwise into 8 strips

salt to taste

enough rice flour to lightly coat

For the batter:

1 cup self-rising flour (or all-purpose flour mixed with 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp fine salt)

2 tablespoons rice flour, or cornstarch or potato starch

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

about 1 cup lager-style beer, plus more as needed to adjust

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