Ingredients
| 1½ cups glutinous white rice, rinsed | |
| 1 teaspoon salt | |
| ½ cup canned chickpeas, drained, aquafaba reserved and chilled | |
| ½ teaspoon baking powder | |
| 4 tablespoons rice vinegar | |
| 1 tablespoon miso | |
| 1 tablespoon soy sauce | |
| 1.2kg mixed vegetables (see introduction) | |
| 150g flour | |
| 150g cornflour | |
| vegetable oil, for deep-frying | |
| 300ml sparkling water, ice cold | |
| 5g seaweed snack | |
| mayonnaise, tomato sauce and sriracha, to serve |
Fish and chips has got to be one of our most popular takeaways – I mean, who doesn’t just love a hearty pile of fried food occasionally? While I love a fried potato, most vegetables, when dipped in batter and fried, transcend this to become even more magical. The vegetables to use are up to you: I have used broccolini, carrot, pumpkin, kūmara, kale and kohlrabi, and used about 1.2kg veges in total for four people. To prepare the vegetables you need to cut or slice them into suitable sizes. Denser root vegetables should be cut slightly thinner than quicker-cooking greens, but I find this way of cooking is very forgiving and tends not to overcook. I won’t lie, deep-frying is a big commitment – made a whole lot easier if you have a deep-fryer – but it is so worth the effort for that fresh-tasting, super-crunchy result. The rice and chickpea chips are fun to make if you are in the deep-frying zone. They have a wonderful chewy centre and crisp outer, and are great dipped in a mixture of mayo, tomato sauce and sriracha.
Instructions
| 1. | Put the rice into a saucepan with 450ml water and ½ teaspoon salt. |
| 2. | Bring to the boil, give it a stir, then reduce to a very low simmer, cover and cook without stirring for 20 minutes. |
| 3. | Take off the heat and leave to rest, covered for 10 minutes. |
| 4. | Put the chickpeas in a bowl and crush well with a fork (pick out any bits of chickpea skin as you do this and discard). |
| 5. | Add the rice, baking powder and 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and stir for about 2 minutes until well combined and sticky. |
| 6. | Line the bottom of a 20cm x 20cm square cake tin or baking dish with a piece of baking paper. |
| 7. | With wet hands, press the mixture evenly into the tin. |
| 8. | Refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until chilled. |
| 9. | In a small bowl, mix the miso, soy sauce and the remaining 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar and set aside. |
| 10. | Heat the oven to 150°C and have two baking sheets inside ready to keep food warm if you want to serve all at once. |
| 11. | Prepare the vegetables and arrange on paper towels until they are nice and dry. |
| 12. | Mix the flour, cornflour and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl; I like to do all the mixing with chopsticks to prevent over mixing, but you could use a fork or knife. Set aside. |
| 13. | Put the oil into a deep-fryer or saucepan until it is one-third full and heat to 180°C. |
| 14. | Cut the rice mixture into 16 fat chips. |
| 15. | Fry in the hot oil for about 5 minutes; you will need to do this in 2-3 batches. |
| 16. | When lightly coloured and crisp, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Keep warm in the oven. |
| 17. | While the chips cook, measure the sparkling water into a jug and mix in 3 tablespoons of ice-cold aquafaba. |
| 18. | Add this to the flours and mix gently until you have a batter (it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit lumpy). |
| 19. | Dip pieces of vegetable into the batter and shake off the excess. |
| 20. | Fry for about 2-3 minutes, until crisp and very pale golden. |
| 21. | To serve, crumble the seaweed snack over the fries and serve with a mixture of mayo, tomato sauce and sriracha, and serve the miso dipping sauce for the tempura veges. |
Recipes and food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles
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