FISHFREE FISH AND CHIPS

Serves: 2

1. Make the marinade by cutting the lemon in half and squeezing the juice into a bowl. Add the white wine, caper brine and salt and stir to combine. Add the kofu fillet, turning to cover it in the marinade. Set aside to marinate, turning the kofu fillet over occasionally.

2. To make the batter, put the flour, cornflour, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Slowly pour in the ale, whisking continuously so that no lumps can form. Set aside once you have a smooth batter.

3. Use scissors to cut 16 rectangles of nori the same size as the sides of the kofu fillets. Take a piece of kofu out of the marinade and stick one of the nori pieces to it. Hold the nori in place with 2 cocktail sticks. Repeat so that all the kofu fillets have a piece of nori on one side.

4. Pour vegetable oil into a deep saucepan so that it comes no more than two-thirds up the side of the pan. Put the pan on medium-high and heat to 180°C (this should make a wooden spoon dipped in the oil sizzle around the edges).

5. Take the nori-lined kofu fillets and dip them into the batter in batches, turning them carefully so that they’re completely covered. Carefully drop the battered kofu fillet into the hot oil and fry for 3–4 minutes, until they’re dark golden brown all over (you may need to cook them in batches if there isn’t much room and so that the temperature of the oil doesn’t drop too low).

6. Remove the kofu fillet with a slotted spoon and drain the pieces on kitchen paper for 30 seconds, then carefully remove the cocktail sticks. Repeat so that all the tofu blocks are double-dipped in two coats of batter.

7. Serve with chips, mushy peas and lemon wedges.