Mainland Brazil · Volume 42, The Court and the Clay Pot
Isca de peixe
Rio de Janeiro
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 4 minutes
- Researched
- 6 sources cited
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
The standard beach kiosk and boteco fried fish across Rio's coastline: firm white fish, lightly marinated, dredged in a cold beer batter and fried hot enough to shatter rather than steam.
As tradition built it
Serves 4. About 20 minutes' marinating; 3 to 4 minutes to fry.
Ingredients
- 600g firm white fish, cut into finger-width strips
- juice of 1 lemon lemon juice, for the marinade
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- to taste black pepper
- 100g cornflour
- 50g plain flour
- about 200ml, or enough to make a light batter cold beer, whisked into the flours just before frying
- as needed oil, for deep frying
To serve
- to serve lime wedges
- to taste hot sauce
Method
- Marinate the fish strips 20 minutes in lemon juice, crushed garlic and black pepper.
- Whisk the cornflour, plain flour and cold beer into a batter just before frying so it stays light.
- Dredge the fish in the batter and fry in batches at 180°C until deep golden, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
What a modern chef changes
A drier surface before the batter, and a colder batter against hotter oil
Method
- Dry the marinated fish strips briefly on the dehydrator before battering, drawing off surface moisture so the batter adheres more evenly and fries crisper rather than steaming inside its coating.
- Chill the beer batter over ice until the moment of frying, keeping it as cold as possible against the hot oil for a lighter, more shattering crust.
- Finish with a dehydrated lime zest and salt mix scattered over at the pass rather than a wedge served on the side, for even citrus across the whole plate.