Easter Tradition · Cape Malay
Cape Malay Pickled Fish (Ingelegde Vis)
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What began purely as a preservation technique for surplus summer fish has become one of the most anticipated dishes of the Western Cape Easter table, prepared days ahead so the flavours deepen.
Fried fish fillets — usually yellowtail, snoek or hake — steeped in a tangy, curry-spiced vinegar sauce with onions, bay leaves and sugar, served cold on buttered white bread. Markets and Cape Malay home cooks sell it in tubs especially around Easter.
Why it's made this way: The pickling developed in the early Cape colony as a way to preserve fresh fish through summer before refrigeration existed, and became bound to Easter when Cape Malay families pickled their catch for four-day camping trips to coastal kramats.
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