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–+ servings
pickled fish

Pickled Fish Recipe

Miranda | My Anosmic Kitchen
This Pickled Fish is a South African dish, often enjoyed during Easter and made with white firm fish, either fresh or frozen and thawed. White fish is first fried in a flour and egg batter creating a crunchy texture for the fish.  Next is a pickling process of onions, spices, dried herbs and vinegar.  The ingredient list is long but the recipe itself, is very easy! I have shared a step-by-step method, make-ahead and storage tips!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Equipment

  • Skillet or non-stick saucepan, large
  • Airtight container, storage, large

Ingredients
  

For Frying The Fish

  • 500 to 1 kilo grams Fish, fresh or frozen and thawed, hake or any white firm fish fillets MSC certified and sustainably caught.
  • ½ cup flour
  • 4 eggs, beaten whisked
  • salt and pepper
  • ½ cup vegetable oil (add 2 tablespoons of oil to the last batch of fish if making a kilo).

For The Curry Sauce

  • 2 Tbsps cooking oil, any
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced (4 to 5 for 1 kilo of fish)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
  • 1 chili, deseeded and chopped or ¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes
  • 1 cup water + ¼ more if you need to adjust the taste
  • 1 ½ cups white grape vinegar

Spices

  • 6 cardamom pods or 1 teaspoon pre-ground cardamom powder (less potent but still effective) See the notes below for how to use them.
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds or 1 teaspoon fennel powder
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon cumin spice
  • 1 teaspoon coriander spice
  • 1 teaspoon salt & pepeper
  • 3 tsps curry powder, any mild curry powder

To Fry The Onion

  • 4 to 6 onions, more fish = more onions. See notes below
  • ½ cup cooking oil
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon mild curry powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric spice powder (if not using the turmeric paste!)
  • ¼ cup turmeric paste (if using, omit the above step!)
  • salt, pinch
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala, (optional)
  • ½ cup water

Optional Ingredients

  • 3 tbsps sugar

Instructions
 

STEP1: Dry & Fry The Fish

  • Pat the fish dry using kitchen paper or towel.
    pickled fish
  • Create your dredging station of 2 bowls one for the eggs and one for the flour. Season the flour with a sprinkle of fish seasoning or salt and pepper.
    ½ cup flour, 4 eggs, beaten, salt and pepper, 500 to 1 kilo grams Fish, fresh or frozen and thawed, hake or any white firm fish fillets MSC certified and sustainably caught.
    pickled fish
  • Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and start to dredge the fish one at a time, through the flour and then the egg, shaking off the excess. 
    pickled fish
  • Fry the fish 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.
    pickled fish

STEP 2: Make The Curry Sauce

  • In a skillet or non-stick pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, grated ginger (if using) and fresh chopped/dried chili, cook for a couple of seconds.
    Add all the ground spices + bay leaves and about ½ cup of water, which will help prevent the spices from burning. Combine the spices and add the remaining water and all the vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes and set the curry sauce aside. 
    2 Tbsps cooking oil, any, 3 garlic cloves, minced (4 to 5 for 1 kilo of fish), 1 tablespoon ginger, grated, 1 chili, deseeded and chopped or ¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes, 1 cup water + ¼ more if you need to adjust the taste, 1 ½ cups white grape vinegar, 6 cardamom pods or 1 teaspoon pre-ground cardamom powder (less potent but still effective) See the notes below for how to use them., 1 teaspoon fennel seeds or 1 teaspoon fennel powder, 3 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon cumin spice, 1 teaspoon coriander spice, 3 tsps curry powder, any mild curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt & pepeper
    pickled fish

STEP 3: Fry The Onions

  • Heat the oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan over medium to high heat. Fry the onion slices. Add a teaspoon of peppercorns, ½ teaspoon of mild curry powder, ¼ teaspoon of turmeric spice, a pinch of salt and garam masala. Mix into the onions and add a ½ cup of water to mix into the onion and spices.
    ½ cup vegetable oil (add 2 tablespoons of oil to the last batch of fish if making a kilo)., 1 teaspoon garam masala, (optional), 4 to 6 onions, more fish = more onions. See notes below
    pickled fish

STEP 4: Combine The Onions & Curry Sauce

  • Pour the curry sauce (from Step 2) 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, go with ¼ cup or less at a time. If you find the taste to vinegary for you, then you would add the same amount in water. Add sugar to balance the acidity out, approx, 3 tablespoons, taste and adjust.
    ¼ cup turmeric paste (if using, omit the above step!)
    pickled fish
  • Add the fried fish to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour turmeric paste (if using) over the fish, gently scoop some of the sauce to cover the fish, and soak up the turmeric paste. Turn off the heat, and leave it to cool thoroughly.
    If not using turmeric paste, simply let the onions sauce cool down a little. Place the fish into a container and once the sauce is cool, pour it over the fish. Once properly cooled, seal and refrigerate 24 hours up to one week.
    pickled fish

STEP 5: HOW TO STORE PICKLED FISH

  • 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.

STEP 6: SERVE PICKLED FISH

Notes

Onions

Work with 4 to 6 onions.  This updated recipe used 4 onions to around 700g of cooked fish. 

Weight

We started with 900g of fish. After frying and eating, we pickled around 600 to 700 grams. 
In Step #2: Cooking the curry sauce. Use all the water and all the vinegar because you need the sauce for the onions. Let it simmer 5 minutes and if it's still too watery, leave it another 2 minutes to thicken. 
Ifyou are making the curry sauce ahead, let it cool, refrigerate covered and when you do use it for the onions, you can re-taste and adjust the acidity after you've added it to the onions. 
Remember the fish will abosrb the sauce over the next few days so don't let it over-evaporate! If you're worried about the consistency, make a slurry to thicken it. 
Maizena / Flour Slurry
Add ½ teaspoon of maizena or flour into a small bowl with roughly two tablespoon of the sauce or water. Make a pourable paste (also known as a 'slurry') stir it into the curry sauce to thicken. 

To toast the whole spices: 

Cardamom pods, fennel seeds, coriander and cumin (also known as jeera seeds in (Hindi) and cumino in (Italian) and used in many more languages! Add the spices to a skillet and toast on medium heat until the aroma is released and they turn a light golden brown. You must watch them, it takes minutes to toast and seconds to burn!
Move the spices immediately to a cool surface to stop the toasting process. 
Do I need to toast the spices or can I use preground? 
Toasting helps bring out the essential oil and intensifies the overall flavor and aroma which is transferred to your end dish. However, you can also use the preground, it's a personal choice.
How to toast and crush cardamom pods? 
Toast them with the shells on, then wait for them cool, it takes a few seconds. Remove the shell and grind them with the rest of the spices. 
Cardamom pods subsitute
Ground cloves and cinnamon are great substitutes or ground cloves and nutmeg, these both work if you don’t have cardamom. Add a pinch of fresh black pepper to give it a bit of 'oomph''!
How to crush whole spices? 
Add whole spices into a pan and dry roast (stove top) until fragrant, around 4 to 5 minutes. Once cooled, give them a rough crush using a mortar & pestle,  an electric spice grinder,  food processor, coffee grinder OR put them in a Ziploc bag or plastic wrap to protect the spices and roll with a rolling pin.

Make Ahead

  • Fry the fish 
  • Make the curry sauce 
  • Wait for everything to cool down completely and store seperately in airtight containers. Refrigerate overnight. 
  • Next day, fry the onions and combine/layer everything. 
Why is it important to thaw and dry fish before cooking it? 
To give the fish a better chance to brown and give you a better crispy crust. Dampness prevents the fish from crisping. 
Turmeric paste:  Although turmeric paste is optional in this recipe, it’s what differentiates the recipe from the orginal. For a more traditional pickled fish see this recipe here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 520kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 18gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 370mgPotassium: 725mgFiber: 6gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 218IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 2mg
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