Pickled fish for beginners

This year, Easter will be celebrated in a state of lockdown in South Africa due to the Corona virus. Although we will be celebrating Easter in isolation at Towerwater, I decided that it is time to celebrate Easter meals with our own traditional homemade pickled fish.

Easter and pickled fish are as synonymous with the Cape as one can get. The earliest recipe for pickled fish that was recorded in print was from 1890, as far as I can determine.  In my copy of Cape Cookery, Simple yet Distinctive by A.G. Hewitt, published in 1890, I found a recipe on page 29. Next to the recipe is a picture of a “Matavaan pot”. Matavan jars contained preserves from the East and were re-used at the Cape to take back pickled fish to the Karoo after holidays at the coast.

When our President announced the 21-day lockdown with strict travel restrictions, we decided to spend the time at Towerwater. Everybody would be under lockdown and that would mean Fungai as well. That left the garden, vegetable seedlings and ripening fruit, vulnerable.  On Thursday afternoon we packed the car and headed for Towerwater. The Voorkamer became my office, a communication hub in the Western Cape government’s fight against the Corona Virus.

Knowing that we will have to make our own pickled fish this year, I stocked up with pickle fish masala from Atlas Trading and fresh fish from the supermarket in Vredehoek. Saturday was devoted to making the pickle with lots of onion rings and frying the fish portions in sessions. With more than 2 kilograms of pickled fish, we were more than ready for Easter.

As usual, I consulted widely among my Africana recipe books for historical recipes of pickled fish or “ingelegde vis”. I was amazed how far back the tradition goes and how consistent the recipes are.

The following recipes I would like to share are in date sequence.

A.G. Hewitt – Cape Cookery, simple yet distinctive – 1890

Pickled Fish (Ingelegde Visch)

For this Geelbek is the best.
Cut the fish into slices about an inch in thickness, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and put them aside till next day. Put them out in the air till they are rather dry.

Fry in boiling fat. Have some onions sliced, cut chillies, bay leaves, turmeric, and vinegar, all in proportion to the quantity of fish: boil all up. The onions must not be too much cooked.
Put the fish into a deep earthen jar in layers with onion between each layer, pour over the vinegar and cover closely. In two days it will be fit for use, but will keep for a long time.

Hildagond Duckitt – Hilda’s, “Where is it?” 1891

Fish (Pickled, or “Engelegte”)
(Cape way of preserving fish.)

2 good size Soles, or any nice Cape Fish (filleted)
6 Large Onions
2 oz. Curry Powder,
1 oz Mango Relish,
6 Large Chillies, or 12 Small,
1 quart Vinegar,
salt to taste.

Fry the fish a nice brown in lard, or butter, or olive oil; drain, and cool. Slice four onions, and fry a nice brown in a little oil; add one ounce curry powder, two chillies cut fine, a dessertspoonful of salt, and the mango relish. When stirred to a paste, add a little vinegar to moisten well; then lay the fish in a jar; spread over each layer some of the mixture. Cut the rest of the onions in rings; boil in the vinegar very gently, until quite tender, with the other ounce of curry powder and a little salt; then pour over the fish. Let it stand till cool, then cork well. It will be fit to use in two to three days, and will keep for months. Is a delicious breakfast or lunch dish.

Mejufvr. E.J. Dijkman – Di Suid Afrikaanse Kook-, Koek- en Resepte Boek – 1891

Ingelegde Geelbek

Maak di vis mooi, skoon was dit af en sny dit an stukke van 5 vingers breed sprinkle dit met sout en laat dit so vir 2 uur staan, haal dit uit en droog dit met ‘n skone doek af, sit dit ope om verder droog te worde, as dit dan droog is, bak dit in baing warm vet sonder meel, sit dit dan op ‘n skotel, laat di vet daar skoon van afloop sit dit dan as dit koud is in potte eers ‘n laag vis en dan di gekookte asyn en uie, dan weer vis tot die pot vol is.  Maak dit goed toe, neem vir die sous 3 of 4 bottels asyn na jou vis groot is, sit dit op di vuur in ‘n pot met ‘n groot diep bordvol gesnyde uie en ‘n paar lepels kerrikruie, 1 lepel borri met asyn angemaak, 3 huisies knoflok, 3 of 4 rooi rissies, 5 of 6 limoen blare, kook dit alles met di asyn en gooi dit op elke laag vis tot dat di vis onder asyn is, di uie moet net gaar wees maar ni pap ni, maak di pot goed toe as di vis koud is.

Hilda Gerber – Traditional Cookery of the Cape Malays – 1957

Ingelegde Vis (Pickled Fish)
Recipe Mrs Miriam Gazant

Cut up your fish and wash it. Dry it and fry it in oil, without turning the slices in batter first. Meanwhile cut up a fair quantity of onions and pour over enough red vinegar to cover them. Add salt and pepper, a chilli and some borrie. Add also a little dry ginger. Put this mixture on the fire and let it come to the boil slowly. As the scum rises, remove it. Let the onions boil up once only; they should remain firm and crisp. Put a little of the fish into a basin then arrange some onions over it. Add the remainder of the fish and the onions. Pour the liquid over. Some people add two or three bay leaves as well.

In the end I used a basic recipe, adding the masala I bought from Atlas Trading and stored it in the fridge for our Easter treat. Now I need to find a hot cross bun recipe to make hot cross buns to go with the pickled fish, in true Cape tradition.