Most of us have been guilty of throwing away our takeaway leftovers at some point in time – it’s only natural to get excited and order too much.
When it comes to ordering traditional British fare, however, one food expert claims he has a solution to avoid your food going to waste. Richie Gong took to TikTok with a storage hack that ensures any excess chips from the fish and chip can be used again.
“Most of us have been there – you go to the chippy and they give you way too many and they don’t get eaten,” Richie began. “But don’t throw them away – instead you can do this.”
After allowing your leftovers to “cool thoroughly”, Richie recommends “portioning them up” into resealable freezer bags. “Give them a good shake, seal the bags and put them in the freezer until you’re ready to eat them,” he advises.
When that time comes, pre-heat your air-fryer to 200C for two minutes, before emptying your chips into the tray. “You don’t have to defrost them and there’s no need for any more oil,” Richie notes. “Give them a good shake to help spread them out and cook for five minutes.”
Richie closes by suggesting you shake the drawer halfway through the cooking process – and once done, your chips should be crispy. “Just listen to how crispy they turn out,” he gushes as they hit the plate. “They taste even better than when you bought them – give it a try.”
“Chippy chips are the only chips I never manage to finish, what a great idea,” hailed one TikTok user in response. “Thank you so much,” said Richie. “I’m the same. I never manage to finish mine. I’m so pleased to have helped.”
“Didn’t even think you could do this,” a second person penned. “Always throw chips away. Thanks for the tip.” Meanwhile, a third praised: “We do this and they’re totally lush from the air fryer. Our chippy does huge portions so we always have some left.”
A fourth added: “All them chippy chips I’ve been wasting – but not any more now I’ve just seen this.” Whilst a fifth said they’d benefitted from the method too.
They wrote: “I’m in my 60s and can’t afford to throw stuff away. So I have been doing this for a long time in my air and you’re right. They definitely are better second time around.”
Sadly, others weren’t so keen on the idea. One person slammed: “Chips are the only takeaway food that I never save because they are like cardboard next day.” And a second agreed: “Reheated air fryer chips are awful. The potato just doesn’t cook right.”
Meanwhile, some suggested you’d be hard pushed to find anywhere chip shop in the currect economic climate that would provide portions large enough. “What chip shop gives you that many?” someone asked Richie. “Mine has gone right tight, a medium nowadays is a small!”
And another fumed: “What chip shop gives you big portions any more? I know have to buy a large and a cone for my family where as we would have just had a large a few years ago.”
