Robin Hood’s Fish and Chips

Having grown up in pubs, I consider myself an expert in fish and chipology. And Bass ale. Bassology. And making sculptures out of sawdust on the floor, but I haven’t done that since I was around 6 years old. Let’s start out with a quick stop at Robin Hood on Sherman Oaks in the Valley

Their version was voted one of the top 5 fish and chips in LA. OK, they were fifth out of five, but still not bad.

Entering the cool interior and cozying into a pew-like banquette brings me right back to the Loch Ness Monster Pub. The Bass is just the right temperature.

What sets apart the fish an chips? First off is flaky icelandic cod Some restaurants give you a choice of fish. The batter is very similar to the batter at The King’s Head, layers of flaky, crunchy coating reminiscent of tempura, panko crumbs (and as a Yelper once put it, crushed pork rinds).

According to Scran, the secret is rice flour and lots of alcohol. I haven’t tried out this recipe, but let me know if anyone has success with it.

So, use 200g plain flour and 200g white rice flour together with 300ml of lager, and 300ml vodka. The beer induces bubbles for extra crunch and the vodka will evaporate quickly to keep things crisp.

Make the batter for when you need it, otherwise the beer will go flat and you will have no benefit from the bubbles. Get everything whipped up, dip in the fish, then get the fish in the hot oil (220C and just enough oil to cover the fish). Drizzling batter little-by-little on top of the fish as the batter is getting crisp and firm will give you loads of crunchy flaky batter – tempura style!

After 1-2 minutes as the fish is getting golden, turn it over and drizzle batter on the other side for about a minute and that’s all it should take!