Popcorn Fish

Assalamualaikum everyone! Today, I would like to share with you a very simple recipe that I made up myself recently. It is absolutely delicious and very easy to make. If you have been following my blog, you should already  know that I am currently on treatment for an ovarian malignancy. Since cancer patients like me have to take extra care of our diets, I had to really know what I'm eating. It was really hard at first, since I had so many favourite dishes that I couldn't eat anymore.

One of them was KFC. Yup. I was a die-hard KFC fan, but I can no longer enjoy them for health reasons. It was a NO for me, because among all the forbidden foods,  I cannot eat chicken and eggs (Eggs are normally used to coat the batter for deep frying). So, when I was craving for them, one day, I decided to try make my own 'KFC's popcorn chicken'- like dish, but instead of chicken, I substitute it with fish fillet. Eggs was substituted with rice starch. It turned out superb! In fact, it was healthier. Here's how to make them.

Ingredients

1. 2 fish fillets, cut them into 1cm cubes ( I used Dory fillets, you can get them in any major supermarket)
2. Rice starch (To make them, 1 tablespoon of rice flour, dissolve it in a cup of water, then heat it until thicken, keep cool)
3. 1 tbs of garlic powder ( I used the coarse powder, by McCormick, you can put more if you like)
4. 1 tbs red pepper powder ( Adjust to your tastebuds, put more if you love it spicy, can be omitted if not)
5. 15 pieces of crackers ( I used Jacob's high fibre)
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. Cooking Oil for deep frying

Method

1. First, prepare the fish. Mix the cubed fish with the garlic and red pepper powder. Put aside.
2. To make the breadcrumbs, dry-blend the crackers with salt and pepper to taste (about a pinch of salt for every 5 crackers)
3. Heat the cooking oil. Once hot, we can start frying.
4. To fry, dip the fish fillet cube, first in the starch, then roll it in the breadcrumbs, then into the hot oil. (Make them one cube at a time, allowing full breading for better results)
5. Deep fry until golden brown and crunchy, once done, allow excess oil to be absorbed by putting them on paper towels before serving with chilli sauce or tomato ketchup. Also can be served with fries and coleslaw on the side.

Try them, you'll be surprised. ^_^