Slender silver fish from sandy shallows, mild and faintly sweet, with flesh that holds together in the pan.

What It Is

A small elongated fish with a pointed snout, a bright silver flank and a pale belly, 20 to 25 centimetres and 120 to 160 grams each. The flesh is white, fine-grained and firm, with a clean mild taste and very few small bones. Gutted, scaled and cleaned before freezing.

Where It Comes From

Netted by small boats working sand banks and estuary mouths, then iced and frozen the same day. Nothing is added: no glaze, no brine, no treatment of any kind.

Specifications

State on Arrival

Hard frozen, with the skin bright silver and the sheen intact, and the eyes clear rather than sunken. A dull greyish flank or a soft belly means the fish warmed at some point between the boat and the box.

Storage and Thawing

Hold at -18 C or colder. Thaw in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours, or cook straight from frozen in a covered pan with a little oil and let it steam through before the skin crisps. Pat the surface completely dry before frying. Do not refreeze once thawed.

Shelf Life and Delivery

Best within 9 months of the production date stamped on the bag. Ships in an insulated liner with dry ice and arrives hard frozen. Keep the bag sealed in the freezer; a loose bag will pick up odours from anything beside it.

How to Cook It

• Deep-fried. Score the flank, dust with cornflour and fry at 180 C for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin blisters and the tail curls.
• Pan-fried. Dry the fish, salt it, and lay it in a hot pan for 3 minutes a side; it releases by itself once the skin is crisp.
• Braised. Fry first, then simmer with ginger, soy and a pinch of sugar for 8 minutes.
• In soup. Simmer whole in a light ginger broth for 10 minutes, then lift out; the flesh comes away from the bone in neat flakes.

Allergen Information

Contains fish. Packed in a facility that also handles crustaceans and molluscs.