Beer battered Dover sole strips

Every now and then most of us like having some delicious battered and fried finger food, certainly when combined with a nice beer.

Rather than whipping up your regular day-to-day variety, surprise friend and foe with this Belgian beer batter. Using beer really adds body, flavour and lightness to the recipe.

Ingredients

Fresh Dover sole fillet
Belgian wheat beer, 1 regular bottle, 33 cl/11.16 fl oz
Flour, 120 grams/4 ounces
Rice Flour, 100 grams/3.5 ounces
Sea salt, 1 tsp
Sichuan pepper, 1tsp
Roasted sesame seeds, 2 tsp
Cumin, ½ tsp
Beaten egg, 1
Olive oil (or suitable vegetable oil) for frying, 75 cl/25 fl oz

Preparation

Mix the flour in a big bowl together with your seasoning and roasted sesame seeds. Rice flour is used to give it an extra crispy touch.

Add a beaten egg, 25 cl/8.5 fl oz of the Belgian wheat beer and whisk until you acquire the desired consistency and texture. If the batter is too runny just use some more flour, if it’s too thick add some beer.

Cut your fillet(s) in equal 1 cm/0.5 inch wide strips and start battering.

Heat the oil in a wok pan and fry up a first batch. Stir frequently and make sure your sole has room to swim.

These really don’t take long, so be careful and take them out when they are golden rather than brown.

Beer

We suggest using a Belgian (styled) wheat beer, such as Hoegaarden, Dentergems Tarwebier, Celis White, Brugs Tarwebier or whatever quality wheat beer you can lay your hands on.

The wheat malt, coriander and orange peel used to brew this typical Belgian beer enhances the batter and go very well with fish and seafood.

Tips & Tricks

Ask your fishmonger for the thickest fillets, if they are too thin they will simply overcook in a few seconds.
Use between 750 grams/1.6 pounds and 1 kg/2.2 pounds of filet to serve 4 up to 5 people, depending your finger food appetite.
Have some fresh tartar sauce to dip your strips in with this dish.