Whitebait Omelette With Ginger

During this important month-long confinement period, it's vital to eat well to regain your strength. Here are some common confinement recipes.

A whitebait omelette takes about eight minutes and hits several confinement requirements at once: warm, savoury, plenty of ginger and sesame oil, and something a tired person can eat with one hand.

It’s also one of the few traditional confinement dishes that survives perfectly well into ordinary family cooking, where it becomes a fast dinner served over rice.

Soak the fish first.

Dried whitebait and ikan bilis are preserved with salt, and a lot of it. Ten minutes in cool water, then drained and patted dry, removes a substantial amount without costing you the flavour.

This makes more difference than it sounds. The sodium in these small dried fish is high enough that an unsoaked portion can make up a large share of a day’s intake, and that’s good to know if blood pressure is a consideration for anyone at the table.

Ingredients

Serves 2, about 10 minutes

4 eggs
50g dried whitebait or ikan bilis (the small, soft kind, not the large hard ones)
1 thumb ginger, finely shredded
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp neutral oil
White pepper
A splash of rice wine, optional, for the confinement version

No salt. The fish brings all of it.

Method

Soak the whitebait in cool water for 10 minutes. Drain, then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper. Wet fish won’t crisp.
Heat the neutral oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the whitebait for 2 to 3 minutes until light golden and fragrant. Take them out and set aside.
Same pan, add the sesame oil and the ginger. Fry gently for a minute, until the smell fills the kitchen. Keep the heat moderate. Sesame oil burns easily.
Beat the eggs with white pepper and half the spring onions. Stir in most of the whitebait, holding a little back.
Turn the heat up slightly and pour the eggs in. Leave them for 30 seconds to set underneath, then draw the edges towards the middle with a spatula and tilt the pan so the raw egg runs out to the sides.
When it’s mostly set, flip or fold. Another minute on the second side.
Scatter with the reserved fish and spring onions and serve over rice.

Notes

Fry the fish separately first. Stirring them in raw gives a soft, slightly fishy omelette; frying them first gives crunch and a nuttier flavour.
Don’t chase a French omelette. This one wants to be set through and lightly browned, not creamy.
More ginger than feels sensible is the traditional direction, and it works.
For confinement, add a splash of rice wine to the beaten eggs and be generous with sesame oil.
Silver fish (银鱼) are softer and milder; ikan bilis are firmer and saltier. Both work. Soak either.

What’s in it

Small dried fish eaten whole, bones included, are a good source of calcium, along with protein and some omega-3. Eggs bring protein, choline, and vitamins A, D and B12. Ginger and sesame oil are traditional in confinement cooking for their warming properties.

The one thing to keep an eye on is sodium, so the soak matters. For anyone eating confinement food several times a day for a month, the salt adds up quickly across the whole diet, not in any single dish.

For children

This works well for children from around one, with adjustments: soak the fish longer to bring the salt down further, chop it finely, and skip the rice wine entirely. Whole small dried fish are firm and the wrong shape for very young mouths, so chopping is a safety point, not a preference.

Eggs should be cooked through for young children and during pregnancy. This method does that comfortably.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to soak the whitebait?

Yes. Dried whitebait and ikan bilis are heavily salted, and ten minutes in cool water removes a good deal of it without losing the flavour. Dry them thoroughly afterwards or they won’t crisp.

Should I add salt?

No. The fish supplies plenty, even after soaking. Taste at the end if you want, but it’s rarely needed.

What’s the difference between silver fish and ikan bilis?

Silver fish are softer and milder; ikan bilis are firmer and saltier. Either works here. Choose the small soft type, not the large hard ones, which stay tough in an omelette.

Can children eat this?

From around one, with the fish soaked longer, chopped finely, and no rice wine. The dried fish are firm and best chopped small for young children.

Why is my omelette soggy?

Usually because the fish went in still wet. Dry them properly after soaking, and fry them before they meet the egg.

Quick recap

Soak the fish ten minutes, dry them, fry them separately, then fry ginger in sesame oil and pour the eggs over.

No added salt. Plenty of ginger. Eight minutes start to finish.