Vinegar Salt Beer-Battered Fish Bites with Quick Tartare

Difficulty: Medium | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 20 min | Total: 35 min | Serves: 4 | Dietary: Dairy-Free

Salt and vinegar belongs on hot fried fish, and Chooki's Vinegar Chicken Salt saves you splashing actual vinegar over a batter you just spent twenty minutes getting crisp. Cut the fish into bite size pieces so everyone can stand around the board and pick at them. Beer in the batter, tartare in a bowl, done.

Step 1: Stir the tartare

Mix the mayonnaise, pickles, capers and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stick it in the fridge while you do everything else. It gets better as it sits.

Step 2: Whisk the batter

Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder and 1 tablespoon of the Vinegar Chicken Salt in a bowl. Pour in the cold lager and whisk just until it comes together, lumps and all. Overmixing makes it heavy. Pat the fish dry with paper towel and toss it in the extra 2 tablespoons of plain flour so the batter has something to grip.

Step 3: Fry in batches

Heat about 4cm of oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. A cube of bread should go golden in around 40 seconds. Dip the fish in the batter, let the excess run off, then lower it in away from you. Fry 5 or 6 pieces at a time for 3 to 4 minutes until deep golden. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature and you end up with soggy batter.

Step 4: Salt while hot

Lift the fish onto a wire rack, not paper towel, or the bottoms go soft. Hit each batch with the remaining Vinegar Chicken Salt straight away while the batter is still steaming. Serve with the tartare and lemon wedges.

Tip: Keep the lager in the freezer for 15 minutes before you mix. The colder the batter hits the oil, the more it puffs.