-
1
Buy from a licensed vendor
15 Mins
Refrigerated, about 4°C (39°F)
Buy the feseekh from a licensed fassakhani or a long-established fish shop with a high turnover, and ask when the batch was made. The fish should be firm and silvery, smelling strongly salty and pungent, not rotten or ammoniac. Carry it home in a cool bag and refrigerate it at 4°C (39°F) or below until you serve it.
If the seller cannot show a licence, or the fish smells rotten rather than salty, walk away — no bargain is worth botulism.
Done when: Firm, silvery fish from a licensed shop, kept cold from the shop to the fridge.
-
2
Clean, skin and fillet
15 Mins
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Rinse the fish briefly under cold running water. Peel the skin away from the tail end, then run a sharp knife along the backbone and lift the fillets off the bones. Pick out any small bones with tweezers and check the flesh: it should be firm and pinkish-grey, not slimy or discoloured.
Work on a clean board with a clean knife, and wash your hands and the board well afterwards — raw salted fish is handled like any raw fish.
Done when: Clean fillets, free of skin and bones, with firm pinkish-grey flesh.
-
3
Soak and rinse
30 Mins
Cold water, about 4°C (39°F)
Put the fillets in a bowl of cold water and soak for 30 minutes, changing the water once halfway through, to draw out some of the salt. Drain, then rinse the fillets with half the lemon juice and pat them dry. The soak softens the saltiness; it does not make the fish safe if it was badly made, which is why the vendor matters.
Do not skip the soak — feseekh is extremely salty, and unsoaked fish is barely edible.
Done when: Fillets that taste salty but not painfully so, and smell clean and briny.
-
4
Slice and dress
10 Mins
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Slice the fillets across into bite-size pieces and lay them on a serving plate. Drizzle with the olive oil and the remaining lemon juice. The fish is served cold — it is never cooked in this preparation.
Slice across the grain so the pieces hold together on the bread.
Done when: Neat slices of fish, glistening with oil and lemon.
-
5
Serve with onion, bread and lemon
5 Mins
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Set the plate out with the sliced red onion, green onions, lemon wedges and warm baladi bread. Each person takes a small piece of fish with onion and bread. Serve in small portions — this is a strong, very salty fish, and a little is the tradition.
Keep the fish cold until the moment it goes on the table, and do not leave leftovers sitting out.
Done when: A cold plate of fish with onion, lemon and bread, ready to eat at once.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Eat it cold, in small portions, with plenty of onion, lemon and bread — and if anyone at the table is pregnant, elderly, a child or immunocompromised, serve them the smoked renga instead.
Egypt
1h 15m
