On The Board

View Original

Pickled Fish

Reesha Chibba

When I think of Easter I think of the man who died for me and saved my life. His name was Jesus and he loves me unconditionally. 

My faith is the one constant in my life.

When I grew up in East London I once was fed pickled fish at the back of the shop from a can. My mother heated it on a gas stove and I ate it warm with piping hot white bread. It was amazing. It was sweet and sour and just different. 

I am crazy about seafood on many levels. I love oysters and feeling them slide down my throat when I eat them. I enjoy prawns even more but fried fish or sardines, cold on bread, is one of my all-time favourites. 

When I met my friend Delia for the first time in 2016, she blew me away because she made pickled fish from scratch. And I had the immense privilege of getting a Tupperware full of it to devour privately. It was the best thing I’ve eaten in a long time and I immediately asked her for the recipe. Since then, I have been making picked fish every Easter in advance.

I usually make this a week in advance for the flavours to become good friends.

Ingredients

2 kg’s hake, cut into portions two-finger size thick in width. I get my local Pick n Pay to cut it exactly the way I like it. 

1/2 cup oil

1 kg onions, sliced

1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

6-7 bay leaves

1 tbsp garlic, diced finely

2 tbsp allspice

5 green chilies, chopped finely

1/4 cup brown vinegar

20 ml sugar

4 tbsp curry powder (I use Rajah and my home mixed spice)

salt to taste and ground white pepper

1/8 cup of Pimento (you can find this in Woolworths and it’s a key ingredient. Don’t leave it out.)

Flour

Method

  1. Season fish well with salt and pepper and dip in flour.

  2. Fry in hot oil for 5 minutes on each side. Not a minute longer.

  3. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

  4. To make the sauce, cook onions, vinegar, sugar, and spices in a saucepan. Add salt to taste. Add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce and let that simmer for a little while. Add more water if you like. I usually add 1 1/2 cups to my mixture. 

  5. In a large dish with a lid, place the fish in there and cover with the onion mixture. Like trifle, keep layering the fish and the sauce until there’s no fish or sauce left.

  6. If you run out of sauce, make more. I always make two batches and it never goes to waste.

  7. Let the fish pickle for a minimum of three days and store it in the fridge.

  8. Serve cold with hot cross buns.