Pickled fish

Ingredients

Fish

• 1.5 kgfirm white fish steaks — snoek, hake or yellowtail
• 2 tspsalt
• 60 gplain flour
• 150 mloil, for frying

Pickle

• 6onions, sliced into rings
• 500 mlwhite or brown vinegar
• 250 mlwater
• 150 gsugar
• 2 tbspground turmeric
• 1 tbspmild curry powder
• 1 tbspcoriander seed, crushed
• 6allspice berries
• 4bay leaves
• 6dried chillies
• 1 tbspcornflour, slaked in a little water

To serve

• hot cross buns, or fresh white bread and butter

Directions

1. Season the fish and leave 15 minutes, then pat dry and dust lightly with flour.
2. Fry in hot oil for three minutes a side, until golden and just cooked through. Lift out and drain.
3. In a separate pan, simmer the onion rings in the vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric, curry powder, coriander, allspice, bay and chilli for 10 minutes, until the onion softens but still has bite.
4. Stir in the slaked cornflour and cook two minutes until the sauce thickens very slightly. It should coat the onions rather than run off them.
5. Let the pickle cool completely. Hot pickle poured over fried fish breaks it up into flakes, and the pieces are meant to stay whole.
6. Layer the fish and the onions alternately in a glass or ceramic dish, finishing with onions on top, and pour over the pickle so everything is submerged.
7. Cover and refrigerate at least three days. The acid is what preserves it, and it needs those days to work through the fish — this is a dish deliberately made on Good Friday so nothing needs cooking over the weekend.
8. Serve cold with buttered white bread or hot cross buns. It keeps a week refrigerated.

Technique

• Cool the pickle before it goes over the fish. The single most common mistake.
• Glass or ceramic, never unlined metal — vinegar standing for days picks up a metallic taste.
• Three days minimum, and it is better on the fourth.

Substitutions

• Any firm white fish; snoek is traditional at the Cape but hake works well.
• Brown vinegar for a darker, maltier pickle, which many Cape Malay households use.
• More chilli for a hotter version.

Variations

• A version with apricot jam stirred into the pickle, which is common.
• Made with fried chicken instead of fish, on the same principle.

History

A Cape Malay Easter dish prepared on Good Friday so no cooking is needed over the holy weekend.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pickled fish?

Pickled fish is a fermented & pickled from South Africa: fried fish steeped in turmeric, vinegar and onion, eaten cold. A Cape Malay Easter dish prepared on Good Friday so no cooking is needed over the holy weekend.

How long does Pickled fish take to make?

Pickled fish takes 40 min plus 3 days in the fridge of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Pickled fish?

Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish; snoek is traditional at the Cape but hake works well. Brown vinegar for a darker, maltier pickle, which many Cape Malay households use. More chilli for a hotter version.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pickled fish?

Stir in the slaked cornflour and cook two minutes until the sauce thickens very slightly. It should coat the onions rather than run off them.