Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I wrote my first recipe for Kitchen Tested. Before sharing my recipe for Red Velvet Fish and Chips, I wanted to share my most popular posts from 2012! I am so proud of these posts for their taste AND creativity. You know I love to try new things and I definitely went all the way with these four posts. 1. Rainbow Layer Birthday Cake (my most popular post every day on KT) 2. Eggs in Chili Clouds (pinned by the most popular person on Pinterest…now THAT was a cool moment!) 3. Red Vine Licorice Cupcakes (I still have some of the Red Vine filling in my freezer and I snack on it once in a while) 4. Girl Scout Samoa Hamantaschen (I am so proud of my creativity with this holiday cookie).
Now for the Red Velvet Fish and Chips. You probably think I’m crazy for combining sweet red velvet batter with fish but if you can remember, I’ve actually put cake batter on salmon before and it was delicious. For my first blogiversary, I made chicken and red velvet waffles and I had an epiphany that I could challenge myself to find new uses for red velvet every year for my blog anniversary. Why red velvet? It’s not just a trend for me. I grew up eating the most incredible homemade red velvet cake with real buttercream (not just powdered sugar and butter) from my Savtah. She used to keep it in the fridge until right before we ate it and since then, I’ve always loved cold cake. Maybe some time I will make this very special red velvet cake for all of you but in the meantime, enjoy this recipe for red velvet fish and baked sweet potato chips.
Red Velvet Fish
adapted from tablespoon.com
1/2 pound cod (can also use sole or halibut), sliced into strips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (+extra for dredging the fish)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup milk (or soy milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz. red food coloring
1 egg
5 large ice cubes
1/3 cup club soda
vegetable or canola oil for frying
Sweet Potato Chips
4-5 sweet potatoes, peeled and evenly sliced
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
I started with the sweet potatoes so I could get them in the oven and work on the fish. I placed the evenly sliced potatoes in a plastic freezer bag, added the corn starch and shook the potatoes. I added the olive oil and shook the potatoes again to combine. Lastly, I sprinkled on the spice mixture then shook to combine one more time.
I placed the fries on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure there was no overlap. If your fries don’t all fit on one sheet, use a second baking sheet.
I popped the fries in the oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. I flipped the fries with a large spatula then baked for another 10 minutes, until the fries were crispy and the edges were beginning to brown.
While the fries were in the oven, I placed the cod strips in a bowl and covered with soy milk. This process helps to get rid of any residual fishy smell. I left the fish in the bowl for 10 minutes then dried on a paper towel.
I whisked together the dry ingredients for the fish. Separately, I whisked together the wet ingredients.
I added the ice to the wet ingredients then poured the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisked to combine.
I filled a medium pot with vegetable oil and set it over medium heat with a candy thermometer. Trust me, you want a thermometer for this one! When the temperature reached 350 degrees F, which took around 10 minutes, the fish was ready to fry. Just make sure the oil doesn’t get much hotter than 350 degrees. You may have to lower the heat on your stove to balance it out. I set up a dipping station with the cod, a small bowl of flour and the red velvet batter. I added the club soda to the batter and whisked to combine. I dipped the fish in the flour, shook it off and dipped in the batter. I carefully placed three slices of fish at a time in the hot oil and cooked for 4 minutes. I flipped the fish once to make sure it cooked evenly.
I placed the cooked fish on a cooling rack when it was cooked through. I prefer a cooling rack to paper towels so the bottom of the fish doesn’t get mushy.
And last but certainly not least, it was time to eat! The fish was so succulent and the red velvet batter created a crunchy mildly-sweet coating that made me very very happy. It’s amazing because you can actually taste the red velvet but it doesn’t overwhelm the fish. And what could be wrong with some healthy and crunchy sweet potato fries to go along with this meal. Happy Blogiversary to me!!! Wonder what I’ll think of next year…
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