Recipe Makeovers

Fish & chips

A lower calorie version of classic British fish and chips, cooked with healthy monounsaturated vegetable oil.

Fish and chips are a classic British fast food made with breaded or battered fish, which are deep-fried with chips (thick-cut French fries). It's believed that the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin in 1860. Since then, fish and chips have not only become a popular fast food in Britain, but also in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and parts of the United States.

A lot of people think that fish and chips aren't as unhealthy and fattening as other fast foods because fish is low in calories and healthy. Well, fish is certainly good for you, but deep-fried breaded or battered fish is another story. The trouble lies in the fact that most fast food outlets that sell fish and chips use animal fat (which is high in saturated fat) or partially hydrogenated vegetables oil (which is high in trans fat) to fry the fish and chips in.

So instead of using these unhealthy cooking fats, our healthier fish and chip recipe uses heart-healthy canola oil (you can also use peanut oil if you wish). Canola oil contains mostly monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that helps lower bad LDL cholesterol without affecting (and sometimes improving) good HDL cholesterol levels.

And instead of deep-frying the fish and chips, we'll bake the chips and pan-fry the fish, which uses less oil than deep-frying and substantially reduces the overall calories.

Let's have a look at the difference these simple changes have made to the nutrient profile of a fish and chips meal.

Our fish and chips are far lower in calories than regular fish and chips, and contain much less fat—and the fat is healthy fat, not artery clogging saturated or trans fat.

Here's how to make these fish and chips at home. This recipe serves two:

To make the chips simply follow the instructions for making French fries, but cut the fries thicker. To make the fish start by mixing together ¼ cup plain flour, ¼ teaspoon each of salt and white pepper and spread out on a plate. Also place ½ cup dried bread crumbs on a separate plate and lightly beat 1 egg white in a shallow bowl. Next coat two 6 oz (180g) firm white fish fillets evenly on both sides with the seasoned flour.

After coating the fish with the flour, dip each fillet carefully into the egg white to coat.

Next, place each fish fillet in the bread crumbs and coat evenly on both sides, pressing lightly to ensure the bread crumbs stick.

Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the fish fillets and pan-fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Serve the fish and chips with tomato ketchup for dipping and sprinkled with a little salt and vinegar (preferably malt vinegar).

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