White Bait White Pancakes - another fishy tale

Still on the subject of fish, have you ever wondered what this symbol is?

Fish lah!  I know that too!  But what does it mean?  Well after some snooping around online, I found that the "Fish" was a very important symbol of Christianity since the early church.  "Fish" in Greek is "ICHTHUS" which is an acronym for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour".  Food for thought!

Like I said, I don't like eating fish.  But here's another fish dish I tried and thoroughly enjoyed - cooking and eating it.  I came across this recipe while watching "Annabel Langbein - The Free Range Cook" on BBC Lifestyle and decided to give it a try.  All you really need is White Bait (whitish longish ikan bilis-type of fish - easily bought at NTUC) and egg white.  Also, it'll be handy if you have an electric egg beater.

Ingredients

• 1 packet of White Bait (about 200g to 300g - fresh, uncooked.  Don't buy the cooked ones)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon of flour (I use corn flour instead)
• Parsley or spring onion, finely chopped
• Pepper and salt to taste

Method

1. Wash and pat dry the white bait with a kitchen towel.  Add about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt to marinate.  I had the head removed because my son has this thing about fish eyes staring at him when he's eating them.  Kids and their pet peeves. :-)

2.  Beat egg white until stiff.  For me, this takes about 5 to 10 mins with an electric  egg beater at high speed.

3.  Add the white bait, corn flour, parsley/spring onion, salt and pepper into the beaten egg white and combine mixture.

4.  Scoop a dollop of mixture into a lightly oiled frying pan.  Fry until brown.

It's crispy on the outside and spongy on the inside.  Looks like vadai but much softer.  It could taste yummy with shrimp instead of white bait.  Give it a try!