Cape Malay Pickled Fish
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.
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
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Be sure to leave a comment below if you try it.