In the lead up to Easter, pickled fish is ubiquitous in Cape Town. You can find the traditional food – fish pickled in curry sauce – on supermarket shelves, on restaurant menus and in home kitchens around the city.
Pickled fish becomes popular around the time that Christians mark their most holy time of year. It stems from a worldwide Christian tradition that sees people abstaining from eating meat on Good Friday and consuming fish instead. And many people continue to “eat only pickled fish for the entire Easter weekend,” culinary historian Errieda du Toit tells Al Jazeera, “to the point where they can’t face another bite”.
