I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear the adage ‘you are what you eat’, it feels like a pre-emptive strike against my enthusiasm for over-eating. But when you’re talking about King George whiting, the quip is a compliment.

Its sweet, clean flavour with notes of freshly cut grass and asparagus, together with its firm, tight texture, are a direct result of its diet. King George whiting, one of 10 whitings caught commercially, use their conical snouts to forage through the sand and mud of shallow intertidal seagrasses growing in inlets and bays, feasting on such delicacies as yabbies, prawns, soldier crabs, worms, pipies and mussels. Truly a meal fit for a king.

Known as perhaps our greatest fish, the King George was named, back in 1829, after King George Sound in Western Australia, where it was first fished from the pond.

Its name could not be more apt, according to fish fiend John Susman, of seafood industry agency Fishtales, who is firmly of the opinion that the King George is Australia’s greatest eating experience from our own deep blue. “It’s the Dover sole (a fish prized in the UK) of Down Under,” he says. “It is one of the greatest culinary experiences on the planet. Soft, delicate, super-sweet with sexy grassy notes. Cook it in a bit of clarified butter and it is complete heaven.”

The slender, silver-bellied schooling species has a dark back and light-brown sides with dark-brown spots, and is the undisputed hero fish of South Australian waters; though one can also catch it in southeast Victoria and southwest WA. (It’s most often caught by lone fishermen using line and hook.)

Susman’s love for the famed fish, though justified, runs deeper than most.

“I have a picture above my bed of a six-year-old J. Susman scaling about 22-dozen King George whiting caught off Carrickalinga Beach with my dad!” he laughs. “It’s true!”

Susman’s endearment for this fish is justifed. Try, as he suggests, gently poaching a fillet in clarified butter, and try not to weep at its cuilnary majesty. Scalloped sweet flesh like no other.

Tips and tricks

Buying

Fresh fish will have a clear, clean, protective coat of natural sea slime (it’s a good thing!) and are available year round. Either fillet yourself or ask your fishmonger to ‘dry fillet’. Fillets should be translucent grey when raw, pearl white when cooked.

Storing

Gut and scale whole fish; wrap tightly in freezer film. Wipe dry fillets and wrap in same manner; place on a rack over ice in a sealed container. Store both in fridge.

Cooking

Steam, poach in butter, crumb, pot-roast whole, barbecue.

Substitutions

Garfish, yellowfin bream, sand whiting.

Accompaniments

No need for lots of veg. Keep it simple with aioli, lemon and a side of chips to let the fish shine. If spark is required, try a nice salsa – think capers, cucumber, parsley, tomato and anchovies.

Click here for some of our best whiting recipes.