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Whitebait

Fish & seafood · White fish

Whitebait

Tiny, whole juvenile fish eaten bones and all; dusted in flour and fried, or made into fritters.

Also called: inanga, whitebait fish, tiny fish

A kind of fish

1 recipe with it

Photo: Tom Betts, via Wikimedia Commons (public-domain)

What it is

Whitebait are the young of various small fish, so small (a few centimetres) that they are eaten whole. In Britain they are usually young herring or sprats, fried in flour; in New Zealand, whitebait (inanga) are translucent juvenile galaxiid fish made into egg fritters.

How it’s used

  • Floured and deep-fried with lemon
  • New Zealand whitebait fritters
  • Italian and Greek fried small fish
  • Japanese shirasu over rice

Characteristics

Taste
Delicate, sweet and lightly briny.
Texture
Crunchy when fried; soft when cooked in fritters.
When cooked
Cook very quickly; pat dry before flouring so they fry crisp.
Sold as
fresh, frozen
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for frying

Storage

Refrigerated. Extremely perishable: cook on the day of purchase or keep frozen.

Diet, allergens and safety

Contains Fish.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Contains fish, a common allergen.
  • Keep fish very cold (on ice or in the coldest part of the fridge) and cook within a day or two of buying; a strong ammonia or sour smell means it has spoiled. Cook to 63 °C (145 °F), when the flesh turns opaque and flakes.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
97 kcal
Protein
17.63 g
Carbohydrate
0 g
Fat
2.42 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
0 g

USDA FoodData Central: Fish, smelt, rainbow, raw (a close stand-in).

Related ingredients

Recipes with whitebait

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