Crispy fried whitebait

The inspiration for this crispy whitebait dish comes from the Bel & the Dragon restaurant in Reading. My boyfriend first took me there for a birthday celebration, and I had Crispy Cornish Whitebait from their starter menu.

Fast forward two years later and we ordered several portions at my Dad’s 60th birthday celebration. It’s a great, simple starter, and easy to replicate at home.

Whitebait is a small white fish that’s eaten head, eyes, tail and all. The big plus here is that this means zero preparation required.

You should be able to purchase a frozen bag from your local fish monger – I got a 450g bag for £5 and using the quantities below you can get 6+ portions out of this. A pretty good deal.

The following serves two as a very generous starter, although can be stretched to 3-4 people if you’re just looking for something light. If you’re cooking for a larger party just increase the volumes.

You’ll need
• 150g whitebait
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• Sunflower oil, for deep frying

Mix together the flour and panko/breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl.

Crack an egg into another shallow bowl and whisk lightly.

Lightly flour a baking tray – you will put your coated fish onto this until ready to begin frying.

With one hand, place a whitebait fish into the egg mixture to coat, then remove and transfer to the flour mixture.

Using your other hand, coat the fish in the flour mixture. Remove and place on the tray. Continue with the other fish until you’ve coated them all.

Make sure to keep your hands separate else you’ll end up in a sticky mess (speaking from experience!).

Heat your oil in a frying pan, about 1 inch deep, until very hot and shimmering.

Lightly drop the coated whitebait into the hot oil (be careful of splashes) in a single layer. You may need to do this in more than one batch.

Let the fish cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.

Remove with a slotted spoon and add to a bowl lined with kitchen roll to absorb some of the oil.

Once drained, remove the kitchen roll and serve!