Pickled Fish is a South African tradition mostly eaten and very popular at Easter time.
It was first believed that it was initially made to feed the masses on Good Friday after the three hour church service in the morning, while many others believe that it stems from the Cape and made mostly by the Cape Malays.
Pickled fish was a popular way of preserving fish at home without the fear of it going rotten as it was made many days before Easter, in preparation for Easter.
These days many supermarkets sell pickled fish near Easter for those that prefer the convenience of ready made pickled fish.
It is served as a first course with bread and butter. Pickled fish is served as a main course with salads
I don’t enjoy the very sweet pickled fish due to too much sugar being added, so I’ve tweaked my recipe to cut down on the sugar content.
I’ve added some spice for warmth and depth to enhance the flavours
Easter Pickled Fish
Ingredients
- 2kg fillet of fish (hake) (cut into portions)
- Regular flour seasoned with salt and black pepper and a good pinch of paprika.
- 1/2 cup sunflower or canola oil
- 4 large onions, peeled, cut in half and then into thick slices
- 1/4 cup sunflower or canola oil
- 4 tbs aromatic mild curry powder
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbs sugar
- 1 Tbs fresh ginger (diced finely)
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbs whole black peppercorns
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Fry the Fish
- Pat the fish dry and dip into the seasoned flour.
- Fry in the hot oil for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels and leave aside until needed.
- Make the Pickle
- Fry the onions in the oil until they are transparent. The onions must not brown at all.
- Fry on low heat to avoid this from happening.
- Add in the spices, sugar and salt.
- Simmer over gentle heat then add in the vinegar, water and bay leaves.
- Over medium to high heat bring this to boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Build up layers of fried fish and pickle liquid in a large glass dish.
- Cover loosely and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving.
- Serve the pickled fish at room temperature with crusty bread rolls.
- Perfect for mopping up all that golden turmeric sauce.
