Crumbed fish burger

I grew up with Filet-O-Fish from McDonalds and now I have a huge soft spot for fish burgers or sandwiches. You will need a wok for frying and cake cooling rack for the fish.

Crumbed fish burger with mustard leaves Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 soft potato buns
• Butter lettuce or mustard leaves, to serve
• 8 cheddar cheese slices
• Pickled jalapeños, to serve (optional)

For the fish

• 320 g John Dory fillets, skinless
• Salt
• ⅔ cup (100 g) plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 250 g panko breadcrumbs
• Oil, for deep-frying

Tartar sauce

• 150 g Kewpie mayonnaise
• 50 g cornichons, finely chopped
• 50 g preserved pickled mustard, chopped
• 40 g eschallot, finely chopped
• 30 g dill, coarsely chopped
• 20 g spring onion, white part only, sliced
• 10 ml Chinese mustard oil
• Salt flakes, to season
• 20 ml lemon juice

Instructions

1. Make a crumbing station: place the flour, beaten eggs and panko breadcrumbs in three separate shallow medium bowls.
2. Cut the fish fillets to the same size as your buns. Season the fish on both sides with salt, then dredge in the flour, dip into the beaten egg and finally coat with panko breadcrumbs. Transfer the crumbed fillets to a wire cake rake and allow to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to help dry out the crust.
3. While the fish is drying, make the tartar sauce. In a medium bowl, combine all the tartar sauce ingredients. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice, if you like!
4. Heat enough oil to deep fry in a wok over medium heat, until it reaches 170˚C. Deep fry the fillets in batches (ensure you don't overcrowd the pan!). Fry for 2 minutes per side (or more if fillets are thick), or until golden and cooked through. Transfer the cooked crumbed fish to a clean wire rack and sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all the fish is fried.
5. Using the oven or a steamer, warm the buns for 1-2 minutes. Halve the buns and spread with the tartar sauce on both sides of the bread. Layer lettuce (or mustard greens), crumbed fish, sliced cheese and a second piece of crumbed fish, pickled jalapeños (if using). Close the sandwich and serve immediately.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.