Something fishy with Simon Rhodes from Lobsterpot Fishmongers, Wood Street Food Hall

THE other week I invited my parents over for a meal.

Now, as we all know, this is not as simple as it seems.

Parents and in-laws are the most difficult of customers to deal with. All of a sudden they become executive chefs or, even worse, international food critics. Michelin star inspectors have nothing on them.

So with this in mind I thought I would keep it simple with homemade fish and chips with mushy peas and homemade pickled onions.

I took home some boneless loin of cod and par-boiled some Maris Piper potatoes and fried them twice.

Then there was the important part, the batter for the fish. There are many variations of homemade batter and every chef has his own take on creating the finest batter.

I thought I would go with a simple batter using ½ cup of plain flour, beer, namely lager (3/4 can) and a little salt. I lightly floured the cod loins and then coated them in the lightly whisked batter and deep fried them in hot oil.

The results were positive and I received three parent stars for my efforts. In fact, they said it was the best batter they had ever tasted! (Mind you, I think the wine helped!)

Last week I was telling the story to one of my customers and she said that she uses ginger beer as an ingredient for her batter.

This got me thinking about the different types of ways to create a good batter. Having researched this I found a few different recipes.

In a mixing bowl, combine ½ cup of plain flour, ½ cup of cornstarch, 1 ½ tsp of baking powder, and a pinch of salt. In a separate mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup plus 1 cup of water, 1 beaten egg, and 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.

Add wet ingredients to dry and combine until mixed.

Another uses Newcastle Brown Ale. Whisk together the ½ cup of flour, ½ cup of polenta, a pinch of salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Mix in a bottle of Newcy Brown Ale until no dry lumps remain.

Some other batters use milk and baking powder and if you are doing tempura batter which is light and crispy you should use light flour, such as cornflour, and iced water.

In nearly all the batter mixes it is best to get the consistency of double cream.

It is worth trying to do your own home made fish and chips the results will be well worth it and so much more taster than bought fish and chips, and who knows you might also earn yourself three parent stars!