In pics: Why Suez citizens love Sea Tomatoes? Read our story

CAIRO – 30 May 2022: We all know tomatoes that we add to salad and pasta. But in Suez, the seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, citizens have different tomatoes that are stable in their dishes.

Sea tomatoes are one of the most famous seafood, and a popular dish that citizens of Suez knew ages ago.

Sea tomatoes are oysters spread on the coast of the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea, where divers get them from coral reefs. They are sold in markets and fish stores at prices not exceeding L.E. 20 ($1.07) per kilo, or L.E. 40 per dish.

Mohamed Negm, a fish trader in the Al-Gharib area, said that there are several ways to cook “sea tomatoes,” adding that some prefer them grilled as the oysters open on their own due to the temperature, and others prefer to buy them ready in plates with lemon and tahini.

Suez city is famous for its distinctive seafood and fish, the most famous incude: seashells, Lethrinus nebulosus, Leopard coral grouper, Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel and canal fish.