Fish and Chips?

I find it very odd that you very rarely hear yanks talk about 'fish and chips'. I mean, Americans are notorious for deep frying everything, yeah? Yet you never really here them talk about a deep fried takeaway dish that is iconic in other Anglo nations, why is that?

I obviously understand that Americans call fried chips fries, so 'fish and chips' might not translate in the same way as other Anglo countries... Is that maybe why they haven't taken to this iconic takeaway dish?

Also, after a few google searches, I'm also surprised to learn that the poms don't use shark (flake) as the primary fish ordered when getting fish and chips... Sounds kind of rank to me, tbh. Why would you go to the fish and chip shop for anything else than flake?

That's what you do on a hot summer night, go order a minimum chips and flake, then add some tomato sauce and your in heaven. If I want any other fish other than a piece of flake, then I'll go to at least a mid range restaurant, not a 'fish and chip' shop... Brits are kind of weird when it comes to food and probably don't do 'fish and chips' anywhere near as good as us Aussies do

... Just saying.

i dont like to deep fry fish i like to pan fry. i pan fry a tilapia in a spicy breading and pour holidaze sauce over it and my old lady bakes a squash, i guess that is our version of fish and chips. when i say our i mean my and my ladys. but in my small town there have been some small "fish and chips" reastuarants go in and out only one i can think that is long standing. but they all use cod as there fish

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
I find it very odd that you very rarely hear yanks talk about 'fish and chips'. I mean, Americans are notorious for deep frying everything, yeah? Yet you never really here them talk about a deep fried takeaway dish that is iconic in other Anglo nations, why is that?

I obviously understand that Americans call fried chips fries, so 'fish and chips' might not translate in the same way as other Anglo countries... Is that maybe why they haven't taken to this iconic takeaway dish?

Also, after a few google searches, I'm also surprised to learn that the poms don't use shark (flake) as the primary fish ordered when getting fish and chips... Sounds kind of rank to me, tbh. Why would you go to the fish and chip shop for anything else than flake?

That's what you do on a hot summer night, go order a minimum chips and flake, then add some tomato sauce and your in heaven. If I want any other fish other than a piece of flake, then I'll go to at least a mid range restaurant, not a 'fish and chip' shop... Brits are kind of weird when it comes to food and probably don't do 'fish and chips' anywhere near as good as us Aussies do

... Just saying.

You Bogan's know good and well that Yanks like Fish and Chips, but they have to be fried proper and not full of grease. I never heard of using shark for the fish we usually use cod.

Come to Texas and say howdy. I can serve up some blackened catfish and grilled squash that will send you home with a limp.

Yanks call chips what we call crisps. I have to have some chip shop chips at least once a week with some curry sauce. But fish and chips is definitely my favourite take away after an nice curry I'm getting into my Thai take away recently just for a change. I love hot and spicy food

originally posted by: woodwardjnr
Yanks call chips what we call crisps. I have to have some chip shop chips at least once a week with some curry sauce. But fish and chips is definitely my favourite take away after an nice curry I'm getting into my Thai take away recently just for a change. I love hot and spicy food

Do your Thai shops sell Wing of Angels also?

a reply to: Subaeruginosa
Most of Britain [and populated Australia] lies next to the sea, by American standards, with trawler ports close at hand. Hence the growth of the tradition.
Not many trawlers are bringing cod into the ports of Kansas.

originally posted by: Enochstask

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
I find it very odd that you very rarely hear yanks talk about 'fish and chips'. I mean, Americans are notorious for deep frying everything, yeah? Yet you never really here them talk about a deep fried takeaway dish that is iconic in other Anglo nations, why is that?

I obviously understand that Americans call fried chips fries, so 'fish and chips' might not translate in the same way as other Anglo countries... Is that maybe why they haven't taken to this iconic takeaway dish?

Also, after a few google searches, I'm also surprised to learn that the poms don't use shark (flake) as the primary fish ordered when getting fish and chips... Sounds kind of rank to me, tbh. Why would you go to the fish and chip shop for anything else than flake?

That's what you do on a hot summer night, go order a minimum chips and flake, then add some tomato sauce and your in heaven. If I want any other fish other than a piece of flake, then I'll go to at least a mid range restaurant, not a 'fish and chip' shop... Brits are kind of weird when it comes to food and probably don't do 'fish and chips' anywhere near as good as us Aussies do

... Just saying.

You Bogan's know good and well that Yanks like Fish and Chips, but they have to be fried proper and not full of grease. I never heard of using shark for the fish we usually use cod.

Yeah, if you want some good cod in Australia, then you usually have to fish for it yourself, from the Murray-darling basin... Should try out some battered flake (shark) though, its a good piece of meat.

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa

originally posted by: Enochstask

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa
I find it very odd that you very rarely hear yanks talk about 'fish and chips'. I mean, Americans are notorious for deep frying everything, yeah? Yet you never really here them talk about a deep fried takeaway dish that is iconic in other Anglo nations, why is that?

I obviously understand that Americans call fried chips fries, so 'fish and chips' might not translate in the same way as other Anglo countries... Is that maybe why they haven't taken to this iconic takeaway dish?

Also, after a few google searches, I'm also surprised to learn that the poms don't use shark (flake) as the primary fish ordered when getting fish and chips... Sounds kind of rank to me, tbh. Why would you go to the fish and chip shop for anything else than flake?

That's what you do on a hot summer night, go order a minimum chips and flake, then add some tomato sauce and your in heaven. If I want any other fish other than a piece of flake, then I'll go to at least a mid range restaurant, not a 'fish and chip' shop... Brits are kind of weird when it comes to food and probably don't do 'fish and chips' anywhere near as good as us Aussies do

... Just saying.

You Bogan's know good and well that Yanks like Fish and Chips, but they have to be fried proper and not full of grease. I never heard of using shark for the fish we usually use cod.

Yeah, if you want some good cod in Australia, then you usually have to fish for it yourself, from the Murray-darling basin... Should try out some battered flake (shark) though, its a good piece of meat.

I will keep that in mind about the shark. Now I have a hankering for some fish and chips.

a reply to: Enochstask

Do your Thai shops sell Wing of Angels also?

Not sure I will have a look, normally a go for chillibeef in pepper corn sauce standard

originally posted by: woodwardjnr
a reply to: Enochstask

Do your Thai shops sell Wing of Angels also?

Not sure I will have a look, normally a go for chillibeef in pepper corn sauce standard

I love Thai food. I feel full but not stuffed after I eat it.

I am hooked on fish N chips the first time I went to a Brit own watering hole, if not give me that Jamaican style snapper deep fried with sauteed onions , fresh thyme ,carrots scotsbonnet pepper with vinegar . placed atop snapper,

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

I've never understood the fascination of fish and chips. I'm English. They're bland, stodgy and boring.

Then you get someone saying "Yeah but when they're cooked in beef dripping..."

Yeah, it makes a boring bland dish slightly more palatable.

English fish and chips is an insult to fish.

I've eaten the posh ones in Whitby, visited Twice Nightly Whitely's stomping ground in Wetwang - plus many more supposedly legendary fish and chip outlets. None have ever been mind blowing.

Basically you need to respect the cod, respect the haddock and eat well. Fish and chips bah!

a reply to: and14263

Basically you need to respect the cod, respect the haddock and eat well. Fish and chips bah!

I know, who eats "chips" and fish with "tomato sauce"?

Its fries and ketchup, with a good burger. Here in the states, thats the staple.

And not that fast food wannabe crap, home style.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

probably don't do 'fish and chips' anywhere near as good as us Aussies do

We were in the states a couple of months ago. Fried F & C is not as common as in Oz however there is a chain called Long John Silver:
www.ljsilvers.com...

I find the Jewish connection interesting;

www.thedailymeal.com...

Deep-fried fish was first introduced in Britain by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain in the 1500s. In 1860, Joseph Malin opened the first fish and chip shop, in Oldham, Manchester. As a combination of mass trawl fishing in the North Sea and the construction of railways connecting the ports to the major cities made fish cheap and readily available, it became a staple working-class food and by the end of the 1800s, chip shops, or chippers or chippys as they came to be known, were ubiquitous. From there the meal caught on in neighboring Scotland and Ireland, and then on to the United States.

PS Hake seems to be the budget fish in W.A. When you order shark its usually now at the top end of prices. Back in the 60s you were lucky not to get shark no matter what fish you ordered; it was considered a "lower class" fish. I guess with the shark population decreasing thats no longer the case.
Great thread BTW

a reply to: intrptr

I've been into cooking seriously for maybe 15 years now. Most of the time I've spent cooking French classics, Asian food and whatever other popular things you find in recipe books. All that time I thought America's food culture was poor, meat based, fatty rubbish...

Oh how wrong I was!

Slow cooked high quality cuts of amazing meats. Mixtures of spices taken from all parts of the world and given the homely sparkle of American excellence.

Honestly, it's overlooked throughout the world but American food is THE BEST.

In my city,we have gourmet food trucks....one is fish and chips.
They serve the best coleslaw I have ever seen and 3 kinds of fries....1 is beet fries,2 is sweet potato fries and the other is regular and they all get served in one dish.
There is always a line of about 30 people so the wait sucks but its worth it.

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: Subaeruginosa

I've never understood the fascination of fish and chips. I'm English. They're bland, stodgy and boring.

Then you get someone saying "Yeah but when they're cooked in beef dripping..."

Yeah, it makes a boring bland dish slightly more palatable.

English fish and chips is an insult to fish.

I've eaten the posh ones in Whitby, visited Twice Nightly Whitely's stomping ground in Wetwang - plus many more supposedly legendary fish and chip outlets. None have ever been mind blowing.

Basically you need to respect the cod, respect the haddock and eat well. Fish and chips bah!

I have to agree on the awfulness of English fish and chips, I have been accused of bieng a forigner and even an alien for proclaiming my distain for our national dish.

I was a chef for many years and it always saddned me that compared to most other countries our national dish was potaoes deep frid with salt and malt vinager with white fish dipped in flour, milk and eggs. It really is such a bland unimaginative dish.

It's the same with a "traditinal sunday roast", an over done lump of meat with over boiled vegatbles is hardly pushing the boundries of the culinary art is it?

Back to fish and chips the closest I get is breaded tilapia fillets with triple cooked chips, pea and mint puree and a tatare emulsion with a dressed baby leaf salad on the side. Thats what I call fish and chips and not a splash of vinager in sight.

to those claiming to be english and not liking fish and chips,sorry but you are not
have you never tried cod n chips in newspaper the way it was meant to be eaten from a british chippy.
the secret is to go to a coastal chip ship where the cod is fresh it tastes entirely different
its more milky then ,most london chip shops the fish is not nice i agree and tastes nothing like a good coastal chippy
with real fresh fish,even in surrey the fish is bad and not worth buying.
i've been to whitby and the fish is amazing there ,i guess they have no palette or are to posh to eat common cod and chips.

yes i eat many spicy foods ,but if you can get a quality cod served from boat to plate in a few hours its amazing .
as for sunday roast sorry if your meat was overdone but that is bad cooking .

but to end if you go to a inland chippy you will not get nice fish and chips in the uk and the size of the cod is a joke

originally posted by: stuthealien
have you never tried cod n chips in newspaper the way it was meant to be eaten from a british chippy.

You should not have been able to do that recently. Wasn't it outlawed, for hygiene reasons?