KEY POINTS:
When I was a child, whitebait cost almost nothing and were plentiful. You could even get them in fish and chip shops. Now they cost a fortune but one must be careful not to buy the inferior, tasteless, frozen Chinese variety.
The West Coast is one of the few places in New Zealand where whitebait still run. During the season, September to November normally, people flock to the mouths of rivers and streams with their nets, or erect their stands to scoop up this delicacy that has an almost mythical status on that side of the South Island.
Whitebait nets can be purchased at any sports shop or hardware store in town, and come with all the strict rules and regulations.
All whitebait spend part of their life cycle in fresh water and part in the sea. Tiny fish hatch in late autumn and are carried along rivers out to sea, where they live and grow over the winter.
In the late winter and early spring whitebait migrate back up rivers and streams, finally settling and growing in bush covered water and swamps. The start of the migration is thought to be influenced by river flows and phases of the moon. Mature inanga adults migrate downstream to lower river sections and estuaries to spawn in grasses covered by water during spring tides. The eggs remain in the grass until the next spring tide covers them again, when the young hatch and are carried out to sea.
On the East Coast, whitebait are something of a secret, which folk from these parts talk little about. Each spring, when the water warms and the moon is full, whitebait run the mighty Waiau river. They are found near the river mouth and access is tricky so people use jet boats to get at it.
I got this pasta recipe from a gentleman down there who drank whisky and water in equal measure. It is rich, but the creamy sauce, delicate whitebait and soothing pasta seem made to go together.
The way most of us love to eat whitebait is simply in a fritter. I have always disliked this as the critter-to-fritter ratio is far too low and the taste of the egg ruins the subtle and slightly sweet flavour of whitebait. Here's the solution - egg-white fritters or better still, no egg at all.
For the egg-white fritter, beat the egg-whites till stiff, throw in pepper and salt then fold in lots of whitebait - the egg-white is just to hold it together and it ends up being really light and crunchy.
In the no egg version, toss the whitebait in flour and shake the excess out through a sieve. Add salt and pepper. Take a really small fry-pan, melt some butter or oil in it and slap in the floured fishies. Fry for a few minutes on both sides and squirt with lemon juice.
In my restaurant in Paris I used to do the flour thing then deep-fry them - amazing. Bon appetit.
- Detours, HoS
