I just posted this photo in another thread. (Not my pic.) It’s of the fish and chips at Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica.
When it comes to fried foods such as chicken or fish… Well, I’ve never been shown how to do it. Flour, egg wash, flour works well enough for fish tacos; but what I really want is to be able to make fish like the ones in the photo. As I said in the other thread, I’ve never seen any other place that makes them that way.
How do I do it?
Basically make a batter, coat the fish, and then deep fry it in hot oil.
http://www.deliaonline.com/articles/food/basic-fish-batter,1415,AR.html
or if you prefer, make beer batter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/deepfriedfishinbeerb_67776.shtml
My favorite way to fry fish is with Keebler club crackers and eggs.
Get two bowls.
Put eggs in one bowl.
Put keebler club crackers into a blender and mix until it’s a fine powder and put into a bowl.
Dip the fish into egg, then cracker, then egg then cracker then into a big pan with 2" or so of hot oil. Fry till golden brown.
The crust becomes kind of sweet. It’s delicious, especially when you use trout.
It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the batter doesn’t seem as thick as the YOKH ones. Is there something to add to the batter to make it all puffed up and crunchy?
The YOKH batter looks far too thick. And nothing like a fish.
Perfect fish and chips is easy. Just get on a plane.
I know some recipes include an egg in the mix.
Beer batter is the go. It’s light and crisps up perfectly. The way I learned to do it was equal amounts of beer and self raising flour (say a cup to a cup and a half) and a beaten egg. Mix together gently and briefly or you toughen the flour gluten. Don’t worry about getting the mixture silky smooth. Then chill for about an hour. Dip in fish fillets, drain excess batter and deep fry at about 350F. Some people like to dip the fish in flour before the batter but it isn’t necessary. And don’t use thick fillets because the batter overcooks because the fish takes so long to cook.
Oh and you don’t want a strong tasting beer just a lager although a friend tells me he uses ginger beer with good results. Must remember to try it.
All this talk of fish and chips and beer… I know what I’m having for dinner now.
Definitely add egg to the batter. For best results wrap in newsprint for a while after cooking
It looks too thick, but it isn’t. It’s got a lot of air in it. I think the closest description I can come up with is that it’s like pork rinds. Thick, but light(ish) and crunchy. I like a good amount of vinegar on my fish. It doesn’t absorb too well in ‘normal’ batter, but this batter soaks it up.
That’s it- I’m off to Union Jack Fish & Chips tomorrow… and those Scotch Eggs looked pretty damned good, too…
I’ll second this recommendation - it’s the bestest chip shop in the world, and only a short drive away for me 
Only the idea is that I should be able to make it here! 
It definitely looks like a beer batter. You will never duplicate the flavour though because you’ll be using fresh oil. If you can beg 1/2 cup of the fish shop’s oil, then Bob’s yer uncle.
Beer Batter
1 can beer (cold)
1 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Paprika
1 cup Flour
Add dry ingredients to bowl. Whisk to incorporate seasonings. Add beer, stir quickly. You can refrigerate this covered up to a day in advance.
Always season the fish with salt and pepper first. Then dredge in flour, patting or shaking off as much as you can–this is what the batter sticks to. Dredge filet in batter. Gently “bungee” the filet over the bowl a couple times to remove excess batter. Drop into oil heated to 375 degrees F.
The same concept goes for eggwashed and coated fish. Season the filets, dregde in flour–this is what the egg sticks to–and pat off excess, dredge in egg, bungee off the excess, then coat in crumbs.
No, this is the best chip shop in the world - run by Italians as God intended our fish to be.
http://www.lalbadoro.com/chippy.htm
Shit website admittedly.
Another Brit chiming in to say that the YOKH fish & chips don’t look too appetizing. From the shape, they look like frozen fillets. They are also cod and the best fish and chips are made with haddock. Many (most?) Brits will disagree with me on that, but Yorkshire has the best fish & chips in my unbiased opinion, and it’s made with haddock.
And the best place to eat them is on a bench on the sea-front bracing against the icy winds of what we locals call “summer”.
I like to throw cornstarch into my beer batter because it makes it puffier and lighter. Maybe about a 2:1 ratio of flour to cornstarch. Spicing the batter is good, too–for fish I like to put some fresh finely chopped rosemary in there and a bit of garlic salt.
OK…
Well, I don’t have any cod (or haddock, amarone); but since this thread is about the batter I just used the tilapia I had. I reduced the ingredients by half, and did not add paprika. The only beer I have is Longboard Lager and Fire Rock Pal Ale. I used the Longboard. I don’t have a thermometer, so I just guessed.
I have to say that this is the most successful batter I’ve ever made. (As I said, I’ve never been able to to proper batter on fried foods.) It’s very good, even with tilapia. But it’s not what I’m looking for; i.e., the thick crunchy batter YOHK has. Some of the batter on the edges was like that, but not as thick. Maybe the heat needs to be adjusted? Or might there be something in the YOKH batter that makes it puff up?
And what am I going to do with this half-bottle of lager?
Oh, wait… 
Could that be the magic ingredient I’m looking for?
Rice flour adds a certain crystalline brittleness to tempura batter. It’s a nice addition to beer batter as well, though not strictly traditional.