I recently made this Curried Fish aka Cape Malay Pickled Fish and it brought the most amazing food memories flooding back, as this was a dish that we enjoyed growing up in South Africa. My mother and grandmother used to make it all the time. I have not had it or made it in many years. 

I don’t eat fish very often, as I mostly eat vegetarian and I also don’t usually fry food, so I pan fried the fish in a cast iron pan on the bbq, which worked well as it was less mess and the house didn’t have the lingering odour of fried fish. I have to say that it was well worth the effort. 

Cape Malay Pickled Fish is lightly spiced pan-fried white fish (I used cod) marinated in a sweet and tangy curry marinade, with crunchy onions and golden raisins. Once the fish is fried, it has to marinate for 24-48 hours. This marinating step is necessary to develop the flavours. I enjoyed it with my favourite peach chutney and a thick slice of baguette to soak up the curry sauce. 

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Cape Malay Pickled Fish

Ingredients

For the Fish

• 3 pounds firm white fish (cod or halibut), cut in 2-3 ounce portions
• Salt and pepper
• Fish spice
• 1-2 cups flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• Canola or any neutral oil for frying

For the Pickling Sauce

• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp allspice
• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 2 tbsp peach chutney*
• 2 tbsp raw sugar
• 3 bay leaves
• 6-8 peppercorns
• 2 tbsp yellow curry powder
• 2 tbsp golden raisins
• 2 tsp cornstarch, mixed with a little water to a paste

Instructions

For the Fish

• Preheat a cast iron frying pan with 1 inch of oil.
• Season fish lightly with salt and pepper.
• Add the fish spice to the flour.
• Dip the fish pieces into the flour, then into the beaten egg.
• Fry a few pieces at a time in the hot oil over medium heat, until golden.
• Drain on paper towel.

For the Pickling Sauce

• Combine vinegar and water in a medium saucepan.
• Add sliced onions and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients except for cornstarch paste. Stir well and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
• Lastly add the cornstarch, stir well and cook for a few minutes until sauce has thickened slightly.
• Place fried fish in a container and pour the sauce over. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. Recipe inspired by Myrna Rosen.

Notes

*Mrs. Balls Peach Chutney is a South African product available in certain stores and supermarkets. You can substitute with tamarind chutney or any other chutney you can find.