Pickled Fish Recipe
Published March 2021, Updated March 2024
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Fish recipes are delicious any time of the year but pickled fish is a traditional South African Easter celebration and we make a lot of fish at Easter! Fish pickled in an onion and spice vinegar solution, then layered and left to marinate in the fridge days ahead of Good Friday when it’s served with hot cross buns.
Updated March 2024
South African Pickled Fish
I have been making pickled fish my entire life and that’s many decades so if this is your first time making pickled fish, it’s really very easy.
We cook batches of fish in onions and spices then each layer of fish is left to marinade in a vinegar and cold water solution also known as the pickeling sauce.
This Cape Malay South African dish is a firm favorite made with hake, kingklip, yellowtail, herring or white fish with firm flesh.
Pickled fish traditionaly is a preservation method hence the fish is pickled in a white or brown vinegar solution. The spices used are specific family to family but include curry powder, bay leaves, whole cloves, turmeric, garam masala and so forth.
Gratitude to some wonderful reviews on Pinterest! Thank you💛
The ingredients are in categories of the batter for frying the fish, the sauce and the onion pickle.
Pickled Fish Ingredients
- Fish: white fish fresh or frozen and thawed (cut into portions or fish chunks)
- Flour: Cake flour or all purpose flour
- Eggs: Room temperature
- Seasoning: Fish spice (optional) salt and black pepper
- Vegetable oil: Canola, Sunflower or vegetable oil.
Marinade Ingredients (Curry Sauce)
Add a little oil to the pan and fry a combination of spices. You can use ground spices, whole spices or a combination. Whole spices should be toasted first for optimal flavor and fragrance.
- Turmeric powder
- Curry powder
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Ginger
- Salt & pepper
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Fennel
- Cardamom pods
- White grape vinegar
- Bay leaves
- Cooking oil, any
- Fresh chili (optional) 1 dried, deseeded chili
Onion Pickle
If you are cooking the onions, spices and liquid together in one pan then you can ignore this step.
- Cooking oil
- Onions sliced
- Peppercorns
- Gram masala
- Turmeric paste (if using, at the end of the recipe)
How To Make Pickled Fish
This is how I make pickled fish;
- Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, season it with salt and pepper (add a fish spice if you like but check the amount of salt, some spices are loaded in salt) and then I fry it in a batter (flour and egg).
- Set up your dredging station which is a place on the kitchen counter where you will have a bowl or plate with flour in and one with beaten eggs. You will also need a sheet pan with a rack to hold the fish, both for drying it out and after you’ve added the batter. And, have 2 tongs one specifically for the dipping in the eggs and one for dipping in the flour. This way you avoid a pound of flour sticking to the bottom of the tongs!
- Then you fry the fish, by first dipping each fillet into the flour, shake off the excess and then dip into the egg. I like doing this days ahead it saves time on the day. Refrigerate the fried fish in an airtight container until you’re ready to make the pickling sauce.
Pickling Process
Slice the onions into rings and fry. Then add the garlic, ginger, spices, curry powder, 1-2 cups of white vinegar and water. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
The pickling process involves frying the onions and spices which can be done in one of two ways:
- Fry seperately. The onions in one pan and the spices in another pan OR
- fry everything together.
Seperately: Start with the spices and a little water on medium heat and gradually add all the vinegar and water. This just means that when the sauce is ready you pour it into the onions. Both ways work.
My preference is cooking them sperate. It gives me more control on pulling the onions off the heat while still crunchy without worrying about the sauce consistency at the same time.
Add The Fish
Place fish fillets one at a time into the sauce submerging them into the sauce. Taste for salt, pepper, vinegar, water and adjust.
If you are using turmeric paste, you add it in the last 5-10 minutes and you’re done!
Recipe Notes
Turmeric paste: Although turmeric paste is optional in this recipe, it’s what differentiates the recipe from the traditional recipe.
Whole spices: If you use whole spices instead of ground spices, then toast and grind them in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Here are the ones to use: cardomon pods (4-6), coriander seeds, cumin (jeera) and fennel seeds.
Make-ahead: You can make the curry sauce days in advance and fry the fish one day before cooking the onions if you want to make this recipe ahead.
Spices: You can toast the spices in advance and store in an airtight container.
Sugar: To balance out the acididy, add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar. We are not sweet pickled fish fans but feel free to taste and adjust.
Vinegar: Be sure to buy grape vinegar and not spirit vinegar!
Cover The Fish: Make sure the fish is submerged as much as possible into the liquid when refrigerating, seal in an airtight container.
Cooking oil: You’ll need enough oil to fry the fish.
How to Store Pickled Fish
Use a pyrex dish or any other glass container when storing pickled fish.
Room temperature: Cover and refrigerate only when the fish is thoroughly cooled and at room temperature.
Airtight container: Store in a sealed pyrex or other glass container for 24 to 48 hours before serving. It will stay good in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Freeze: Freeze in a freezer safe container and thaw to reheat. Freeze up to 6 months.
Serving
Serve with warm hot cross buns and butter or any bread. Enjoy!
Need a recipe? The best Hot Cross Buns Recipe
More Fish Recipes You’ll Love
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Pickled Fish Recipe
Equipment
- 1 skillet for frying the fish
- 2 tongs, one for flour one for eggs
- 2 bowls – one for flour and one for the eggs
- Kitchen tissue paper roll
Ingredients
For Frying The Fish
- 1 kg Fish fresh or frozen and thawed (hake or kingklip)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 eggs beaten
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
For The Curry Sauce
- 2 Tbsps cooking oil any
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tbsp ginger grated
- 1 cup water + 1/4 more if you need to adjust the taste
- 1 1/2 cups white grape vinegar
- 1 chili deseeded and chopped (optional)
Spices
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons curry powder any mild curry powder
To Fry The Onion
- 4 onions
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp mild curry powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric spice powder if not using the turmeric paste!
- 1/4 cup turmeric paste if using, omit the above step
- salt pinch
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 cup water
Optional Ingredients
- 3 tbsps sugar
Instructions
- Step 1. Dry the fish fillets: Remove the fish from the fridge at least 20 minutes before frying. Take off any packaging and place the fillets in a single row over a wire rack to air dry. Pat them dry with kitchen paper.1 kg Fish
- Step 2. Fry the fish fillets: Prep your dreding station – a bowl with flour and another bowl with the beaten egg. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season the fish fillets with salt and black pepper. Using tongs, dip each fillet, one at a time into the flour and then the egg, shaking off the excess of both before dipping into the next bowl. Fry the fish in the hot oil till light golden brown, set aside on a plate and keep going until all the fish is fried. Don't overfill the pan, work in batches.1/2 cup flour, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup cooking oil, salt and pepper
- Step 3. Make the curry sauce: Same pan, drain off some of the oil (the 2 tablespoons of oil in the ingredients is only if you fried the fish in advance and are starting the curry sauce another day). Fry the garlic, grated ginger and chili, mix together for a few seconds and then add all the ground spices (cumin, coriander, fennel, curry powder), bay leaves, salt, pepper and about 1/4 cup of water, which will help prevent the spices from burning. Combine the spices and add the remaining water (about a cup) and all the vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes and pour the curry sauce into a jug, set aside.3 garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp ginger, 1 cup water + 1/4 more if you need to adjust the taste, 1 1/2 cups white grape vinegar, 1 chili, 1 teaspoon ground fennel, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 tsp mild curry powder, 2 Tbsps cooking oil
- Step 4. Fry the onions: Now heat the oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Fry the onion slices. Add a teaspoon of peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon of mild curry powder, 1/4 tsp of turmeric spice, a pinch of salt and mix into the onions. Add a 1/2 cup of water to mix into the onion and spices. Add garam masala over the top at the end of cooking the onions.2 teaspoons curry powder, 4 onions, 1/2 cup cooking oil, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1/4 tsp turmeric spice powder, salt, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp garam masala
- Step 5. Combine: Pour the curry sauce over the onions. Drop the heat to a simmer, leave for 10 minutes. Taste the sauce and add water if necessary. If you want to add vinegar, add a tablespooon at a time. If you find the taste too vinegary for you, then you would add the same amount in water. Add sugar to balance the acidity out, approx, 2-3 tablespoons, taste and adjust. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.3 tbsps sugar
- Optional turmeric paste step: Pour (if using) the turmeric paste over the fish and scoop some liquid over the fish incorpotating the turmeric. Give it 4-5 minutes then remove from the stove and cool.1/4 cup turmeric paste
- Store: Cover and refrigerate only when the fish is thoroughly cooled at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for 24 hours up to 4 days.
- Serve with warm hot cross buns or bread and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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I have not made this yet; but 500kilograms of fish??
Hi Louise, thank you for visiting my blog and reading the recipe, I love that you did that and appreciate even more that you’ve notified me of 500kg! I’ve since changed it to 500grams not kilograms, thanks again and happy cooking. Miranda xoxo