serves 4

1 cup all purpose flour plus additional flour

1  12-ounce bottle or can porter ( a type of dark beer)

1 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 pounds cod or other white fish fillets,cut crosswise into 1 -inch wide strips

Vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Place 1 cup flour in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in enough beer (1 to 1  1/4 cups) to form medium thick smooth batter. Whisk in onion powder. (Batter can be prepared 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Dust with additional flour. Pour enough oil into large saucepan to reach depth of 1  1/2 inches. Heat oil to 375F. Working in batches, dip fish into batter, coating completely but allowing excess batter to drip off. Add fish to oil; fry fish until cooked through and batter is deep golden  brown, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes.Transfer fish to a paper towels to drain. Arrange fish on platter and serve.