Whitebait

In Europe, this term refers to juvenile herring. It is termed 'whitebait' because it is generally translucent/ white in colour, and is used as bait to catch larger fish. But really, it looks just like anchovies aka ikan bilis.


Taken from www.pugetsoundflyfishing.com

Once processed, it quickly turns into this:

Deep fried ikan bilis whitebait

It is considered a delicacy, mainly because legislation restricts the catching of these fry (pun so intended!).

Similarly,

Taken from New Zealand Department of Conservation

quickly turns into

Deep fried whitebait obtained from Selfridges & Co, London

How does it taste like? Like anchovies coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried.