Total Time does not include time to marinate.
1. I usually slice them diagonally into 5cm long ovals, then julienne them. This method is particularly good for cucumbers as the green part comes on both ends of the stick for every piece.
2. I find that chopping dried chilli into round pieces using a knife is difficult as the dry skin tends to break. I use a pair of kitchen scissors which works well.
You can use fresh chilli if you like. If you are sensitive to hot chilli, omit it.
3. You don’t need to use mackerel fillet. I sometimes buy yellow tail as they are usually quite cheap. You can use other fish fillets such as Spanish mackerel, king fish, or any white flesh fish suitable for deep frying.
In the case of mackerel/yellowtail, I cut the fillet diagonally to show more flesh on the surface. The width of the skin is 2.5-3cm (1-1¼”). This will penetrate more flavours into the fish pieces. But you can just cut it straight down into bite size pieces if you like.
4. I suggest that you use a small saucepan so that you don’t need to use a lot of oil. My saucepan was 16cm (6¼”) in diameter. But if you don’t mind using a large quantity of oil, use a large fry pan. Then you will be able to fry more pieces at once.
5. Please do not fry too many pieces at once as the temperature of the oil drops too much and you won’t be able to make crispy fried fish. I fried a few pieces at a time in my small saucepan.