How to pickle fesikh at home

CAIRO - 4 May 2020: Fesikh is an ancient traditional celebratory dish, consisting of fermented, salted mullet that lives in both the Mediterranean and the Red Seas.

Fesikhis a form of dried salted fish and is eaten during the Sham el-Nessim festival, a spring celebration that has been established since ancient times in Egypt to mark the start of spring.

Ingredients:

Bury fish "as much as you wish"

Coarse salt, according to the amount of fish

Hot sauce

How to prepare fesikh at home:

1- Buy mullet fish and make sure it is edible by ensuring the gills are still making pink, noting the consistency of the fish’s body and its shell.

2- Wash the fish well to allow the water to pass from the gills to the inside so to get rid of all the things stuck in the fish, and bring a large-sized strainer and place the fish lengthwise so that the head is down and the tail is up and leave the fish for 8 hours until it gets rid of the water and blood it.

3- Prepare the salt and fish mixture, so that every 3 tablespoons of coarse salt contains, 1/4 tablespoon of hot pepper is added.

4- To stuff the fish, put the mixture in the gills and make sure that the fish is completely stuffed. Bring plastic bags and put each fish in a bag separately and close it well so that the air does not enter it, and put the bags in a large plastic bag

The Fish must be placed in the kitchen cupboard or stovetop, taking into account turning the bags over 5 times a day.

5- Leave the bags for 8 to 10 days.

6- Fesikh should be served after cleaning it from the inside, cutting off the head, removing the thorns, and putting it in oil, lemon and tahini, so that you get rid of the excess salt inside.