🐟 Feseekh (fermented mullet)

Name: Feseekh (fermented mullet)
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Egypt
Ingredients: 1 ready-made feseekh (about 400 g) from a trusted producer; 2 lemons, juiced; 2 onions, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 bunch spring onions; ground cumin and chilli flakes, to taste

Origin: Egypt

200kcal

per serving · 100 g

200kcal

per 100 g

22 gProtein22 g / 100 g

12 gFat12 g / 100 g

1 gCarbs1 g / 100 g

Feseekh is grey mullet that has been dried in the sun, then packed in salt and left to ferment for weeks until the flesh turns soft and intensely salty. Its smell is famously strong. It is eaten in small amounts as an appetizer, opened up and dressed with lemon juice, sliced onion and a little oil, and is a fixture of the Egyptian spring holiday Sham el-Nessim.

Diets

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly1 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein22 g protein per 100 g — 44% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: grey mullet

Not veganbecause of: grey mullet

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Fish

What it is made of

grey mulletsaltlemononionoil

Recipe

4 servings15 min

Ingredients

1 ready-made feseekh (about 400 g) from a trusted producer
2 lemons, juiced
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch spring onions
ground cumin and chilli flakes, to taste

Method

Rinse the feseekh briefly, then open it, remove the skin and the bones.
Cut the flesh into pieces and place on a serving plate.
Pour over the lemon juice and oil, sprinkle with cumin and chilli.
Top with sliced onion and serve with spring onions and plenty of lemon.

How to make it lighter

Feseekh is very salty: keep the portion small and drink plenty of water with it.
Serve it with a large plate of fresh vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber and radish to make the meal more filling.
Use just a teaspoon of oil in the dressing — the fish is already rich; 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.

History

Salting and fermenting fish along the Nile is often traced back to ancient Egypt, and feseekh is closely tied to Sham el-Nessim, a spring festival with ancient roots. Making it is a specialist craft, and authorities in Egypt regularly warn to buy it only from trusted producers because badly prepared fish can be dangerous. Today it remains a much-loved, once-a-year treat for many Egyptian families.

Count it in one photo

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →