Kibbeling

Kibbeling – Dutch Fried Cod Chunks with Garlic Sauce

A classic Dutch street-food classic: bite-sized pieces of cod dipped in a light beer batter, deep-fried until golden and pillowy, and served with a punchy garlic sauce and lemon wedges. Best eaten hot from the fryer at a market stall — but easily reproduced at home.

Prep

15 min

Cook

12 min

Total

27 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) cod fillet, skin and bones removed, cut into 3 cm chunks; use sustainably sourced cod
• •5 g (1 tsp) salt, plus extra for the batter
• •0.5 g (¼ tsp) white pepper, freshly ground
• •150 g (1¼ cups) plain flour, divided — half for dusting, half for batter
• •30 g (¼ cup) cornstarch (maizena), gives the batter its crisp shell
• •1 g (¼ tsp) baking powder, for lift
• •180 ml (¾ cup) cold lager beer, Dutch pilsner is traditional; keep it cold for a crisp batter
• •1 whole egg, room temperature
• •750 ml (3 cups) neutral frying oil, sunflower or peanut oil; enough for 5–6 cm depth in a heavy pot
• •1 whole lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• •150 g (⅔ cup) full-fat mayonnaise, base of the sauce
• •100 g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) Greek-style yoghurt, or crème fraîche; lightens the sauce
• •3 cloves garlic, finely grated or crushed
• •10 ml (2 tsp) white wine vinegar, or lemon juice
• •2 g (½ tsp) salt, for the sauce
• •1 g (¼ tsp) white pepper, for the sauce
• •5 g (1 tbsp) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, optional

Steps

1. 1 Pat the cod chunks very dry with paper towels. Season evenly with 5 g salt and 0.5 g white pepper and let them sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while you make the sauce and batter.
2. 2 Make the garlic sauce: whisk together the mayonnaise, yoghurt, grated garlic, white wine vinegar, 2 g salt and 1 g white pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in the parsley if using. Cover and chill until serving.
3. 3 Make the batter: in a bowl, whisk 75 g plain flour, the cornstarch, baking powder and a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl whisk the cold lager with the egg, then pour the wet into the dry and whisk until just smooth — a few small lumps are fine. Do not overmix; the batter should be cold and the consistency of thin pancake batter. Refrigerate until needed.
4. 4 Heat the oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 180 °C (356 °F). Use a thermometer — this is the key to non-greasy kibbeling. While the oil heats, dust the cod chunks lightly in the remaining 75 g flour and shake off the excess.
5. 5 Working in small batches of 6–8 pieces, dip each floured chunk into the cold batter, let the excess drip off briefly, then lower gently into the oil. Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and the interior of the cod reads 55 °C (131 °F) on an instant-read thermometer (carry-over will bring it to a safe 60 °C / 140 °F).
6. 6 Lift the kibbeling out with a slotted spoon or spider and drain on a wire rack set over a tray — not on paper towels, which soften the crust. Keep finished batches warm in a low oven (90 °C / 200 °F) while you fry the rest.
7. 7 Check the oil temperature between batches and bring it back to 180 °C (356 °F) before adding more kibbeling.
8. 8 Serve immediately on paper-lined plates or in a paper cone, with the garlic sauce in a small pot for dipping and lemon wedges for squeezing over. Eat with your fingers, the Dutch way.