Starters & Light meals

Fish bread

4 to 6
Easy
10 minutes
20 minutes

"I grew up believing it was just my grandmother who had revolutionised stale bread in this way. On Fridays, we would have battered hake and chips for supper and my gran refused to throw that leftover little bit of batter. The next day, she would dip slices of day-old bread into it to deep-fry. The crispy batter took on the flavour of the fish that had previously been fried in the oil and the bread was so soft and steamy on the inside. The curtains and carpets smelled like fish for days after, but the greasy triangles of crunchy goodness made it all worth the trouble." – Khanya Mzongwana

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Ingredients

Method
  • 2 free-range eggs
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 100 g flour
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 T seafood seasoning
  • 1 t ground turmeric
  • a dash water, to thin to a dripping consistency
  • sunflower oil, for frying
  • 8 slices thick-cut white bread
  • tomato sauce, for serving

1. Whisk the eggs with the water. Combine all the remaining ingredients except the oil and bread, then whisk with the eggs to form a batter.

2. Heat the oil in a saucepan. When the oil is hot, dip the bread into the batter, coating it completely, and fry in batches until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with tomato sauce or any other dipping sauce of your choice.

Find more South African recipes here. 

Photographs and videography: Khanya Mzongwana and Katharine Pope
Production: Khanya Mzongwana
Food assistant: Leila-Ann Mokotedi

Khanya Mzongwana

Recipe by: Khanya Mzongwana

If you're anything like our deputy food editor Khanya Mzongwana, you're obsessed with uniqueness and food with feeling. Cook her family-tested favourites, midweek winners and her mouth-wateringly fresh takes on plant-based eating.

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