I am trying to clear my freezer but at the same time I keep buying frozen stuff to try. I had two more frozen unagi kabayaki to clear (and many other items) and yet I bought the following :
Fish & Chips. Yup, I miss fish & chips.
I find it very hard to read the instruction at the back because the print is so small.
Crinkle Cut French Fries.
Instructions also very, very tiny. Not old people friendly.
I noted that the fries need 20 minutes in the air fryer at 180C. So I did the fries first.
20 minutes felt like forever.
Not bad.
Then I opened up the box of Fish & Chips.
Two pieces of tempura fish fillet to be cooked in the air fryer for 13-14 minutes at 200C.
Alamak! Inside also got chips! Of course lah, fish & chips mah. Why didn't I expect this? So I kept it back in the freezer.
After the crinkle cut fries were done, time to cook the fish.
I set it to 15 minutes, turning at halftime but I could not get even browning, so I added another 5 minutes.
Still cannot brown evenly, so maybe this is best deep fried. By the time the fish was done, the fries had already cooled down substantially, becoming hard and chewy.
It was all right, cannot compare with Fish & Chips eaten at the restaurant. I feel that had the fries and fish been deep fried, it would have resulted in better looking and tasting Fish & Chips.
So what's for dinner?
Unagi Kabayaki and salad.
It was pretty good! No more buying frozen food for the time being until I finish my stocks.
My missus bought two boxes Pacific West that day but one is tempura sotong rings, I think. She fried those already, very nice!
ReplyDeleteIf the print is too small, I would use my camera to take a snapshot and then zoom to read.
Your unagi looks like char siew pork ribs or at least, at a glance, I thought you had that.
Frying yields the best result.
DeleteAh! That's what I do sometimes too. Our eyes are not what they used to be. Sigh....
I used to buy Pacific West Fish, can't remember whether there is chips because so long ago. Air fry is more healthy but deep fried tastier. Unagi Kabayaki and salad looks very delicious.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt real proper frying in oil is best. Haiz...LOL!
DeleteI fried french fries for snack today. Kids love them.
ReplyDeleteA favorite of kids and some adults. I still love fries hah..hah..
DeleteSo the earlier coated/breaded fish was better then? Maybe you need to spray with oil to get better browning. Eh, I thought fries cook much faster in an air fryer (I was told half the time like 10 mins). So, thank you for answering my doubt if it does cook faster...and helping me make up my mind that I might not need an air fryer after all (especially now that you confirm it cooks in 20 mins which is just like in a regular oven. Now if you had laid both the fish & fries in a tray in your bigger regular oven, they would have been cooked at the same time and you need not have to eat cold, chewy fries...lol! :D For some reason, I've never liked crinkle cut as I find it's somehow drier when cooked (maybe it's just in my head). I prefer the thinner shoestring fries...maybe you can try that next time to see if there's a difference for you. P/S: I've never had an unagi salad...hah..hah.
ReplyDeleteYes, the coated/breaded fish was way better especially the oatmeal one. I did not expect the fish & chips to be tempura fish which I tried before long ago and did not like. I also thought that the fries would cook much faster. The instructions for the chips that came with the Pacific West fish said to air fry for 6-7 minutes. Those fries are cut thinner but I have not air fried them yet. I'll post when I do. That unagi salad was my creation. LOL!
DeleteI think the most tempting plate above was your Unagi Salad. It is really luxury to me and I will suggest to my wifey to make. She complains that I tend to avoid vegetables. I have given up telling her my teething issues that could not chew certain leafy vegetables. Salad is most welcome because they are thick and crunchy!
ReplyDeleteI also have preference for thick cut or shoestring fries compared to crinkle cut. The other day I could not finish the fries from KFC and asked myself why I never had problems with McD's??? I realized they used different brand of potatoes with different preparation hence the texture difference. Forgot which McD staff told me this over 10 years ago.
I have written on post stick to buy Pacific West. The last time I bought was to feed my mum before she died. I might cry if I see the box in front of my eyes. Cry at the fish or my mum?? Woohoo! Bring tissues please.....
Those leafy greens should not be a problem for your teeth. I actually love McD's fries. One time long ago, I tapau two large ones and ate them at Cathay cinema while watching a movie. My good old days!
DeleteOh dear. The Pacific West fish brings sad memories for you. Perhaps you should see it positively as your mum's favorite fish and think of her smiling upon you when you are enjoying the fish!
I haven't eaten unagi with raw salad together before but I think should be ok though I would prefer to eat unagi with rice. I didn't even know I think this way until I am writing this comment. Your fish and chips look good. Now I feel like eating fish and chips more than unagi.
ReplyDeleteI simply improvised since I had leftover salad and unagi. It turned out nice though I agree it would be best to have unagi with rice and salad as a side.
DeleteMe too, I find the print very small bcos I have old flower eyes. I still have not acquire the taste of unagi yet.
ReplyDeleteI used to bake my frozen fish fillet. Frozen food is easy and convenient to cook.
I used to bake them too before I had my air fryer.
DeleteYou just reminded me that I bought CB brand tempura fish fillets at a food expo before.
ReplyDeleteWas it good? I don't remember you blogging about it or maybe I missed your post.
DeleteYour potato fries are nicely done! I have not used the air fryer for that before, I wonder if it works for Unagi as well, but the other day to be on the safe side, I used the oven for grilling the fish. Compared oven and air fryer I prefers the fryer anytime... smaller and easier to clean... lazy me!
ReplyDeleteThanks! For me it depends, if the amount of food is small, I prefer the air fryer. The unagi can't fit into my air fryer unless if I cut it into two. So that's why I used the oven.
DeleteI never pair my frozen unagi with salad, maybe I should for a change. :P
ReplyDeleteHow's the flavour of the fish fillet of that frozen pack? Do they flavoured?
It was actually good with salad :)
DeleteThe flavor of the fish is quite mild, lightly seasoned.