Ling burger

Crumbed ling will deliver the best fish burger you could ever imagine – so much so that it's startling people don't do it all the time.

Credit: Ben Dearnley

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp milk
• 80 g (2¾ oz/½ cup) rice flour
• 25 g (1 oz) panko (Japanese-style) breadcrumbs
• 4 120 g (4¼ oz) ling fillets, skin removed, pin-boned
• 4 brioche buns, cut in half horizontally
• 8 baby cos (romaine) lettuce leaves
• 2 whole pickled onions, sliced into rings
• 2 pickled cucumbers, thinly sliced lengthways
• 100 g (3½ oz) tartare sauce

Instructions

Half-fill a medium saucepan with vegetable oil and place over high heat (see note). Heat the oil to 180°C (350°F)  – check with an oil thermometer. (For a guide to testing the oil temperature without a thermometer, see note.)

In a large, shallow bowl, whisk the egg and milk together to make an egg wash. Place the rice flour in another bowl and the panko breadcrumbs in a third. Dust each ling fillet in the rice flour first, then dip it in the egg wash and, lastly, the breadcrumbs.

Tap off any excess crumbs and lower the ling fillets carefully into the hot oil. Fry the ling for about 2 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Remove from the saucepan and drain on a baking tray lined with paper towel.

Place the bottom half of each brioche bun on a tray. Add two lettuce leaves to each and top with the fried fish. Add the pickled onion rings, pickled cucumber and tartare sauce, then place the other brioche half on top and serve.

Notes

• For this much fish, it’s safe to use a 6 litre (203 fl oz/24 cup) saucepan. When deep-frying in a saucepan, it’s advisable to keep the oil level a good 10 cm (4 in) below the rim of the pan. The other option for deep-frying is, of course, an electric deep-fryer. The used oil can be strained, cooled and refrigerated for later use.

• To test the temperature of the oil, drop a cube of bread into it. If it turns golden in 15 seconds, it’s sitting perfectly on 180°C (350°F). If the bread takes only 10 seconds to turn golden, then the oil is around 190°C (375°F). If it takes 20-30 seconds to brown, the oil is too cold. Be patient and get the oil to the correct temperature before proceeding.

Recipe and image from Australian Fish and Seafood Cookbook by John Susman, Anthony Huckstep, Sarah Swan, and Stephen Hodges (Murdoch Books, HB, $79.99). Photography by Ben Dearnley.

Read more on how to buy the freshest fish here.

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.