Sayadieh (Middle Eastern Fish And Rice)

Looking to try a new way to enjoy white fish? This classic Sayadieh recipe features warmly seasoned fillets of cod, pan fried until crispy, over a bed of aromatic fluffy yellow rice with crispy friend onions and almonds. This authentic recipe is bursting with flavour and quite easy to make.

Why It Is Called “Sayadieh”

The word “Sayyad” in arabic means “fisherman”, and therefore “Sayadieh” implies a fisherman’s meal. If you were at a middle eastern restaurant along the sea, this dish would be served as the “catch of the day” feature.

The components of Sayadieh are simple, but together, they create magic. This is the sort of dish that I keep spooning more and more of, just over the stovetop. It features fish fillets (typically cod or other white flaky fish like halibut or haddock) coated with spices and cornstarch and pan fried until crispy. The rice is also seasoned with the same spice mixture and cooked with fried onions until fluffy.

The dish is assembled as follows: a bed of flavourful, aromatic yellow rice, the crispy fish fillets over top, and a final layer of fried onions and crunchy almonds.

It’s usually served as-is or with a side of lemony tahini sauce, which is called tarator in Lebanon. This dish is one of the most popular Levantine (from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine) fish dishes, along with the classic samke harra (a baked fish recipe with tahini that is not to miss!).

For me, this dish is a must make, but if you’d like a less fussy quick stove top fish recipe, try this easy mediterranean fish recipe.

Ingredients and Substitutions for Sayadieh

This recipe is an authentic Lebanese version of the dish. Here are the ingredients you will need along with my notes on substitutions.

• Cod Fillets: the recipe is also made with whole fish that is deep fried, but I find using fillets to be much quicker. You can use any flaky white fish, but cod is the go-to fish for its rich flavour and texture. Haddock is a very close substitute to Cod, and you can also use Halibut (but halibut will be more delicate when pan frying). I suggest using fresh fish, but frozen will work too.

TIP: If using frozen fish fillets, ensure you thaw them in the fridge overnight, then pat them dry with paper towels very well, multiple times, to ensure the moisture is gone. This will help with easier and splatter free pan-frying.

• Sayadieh Spice Mix: this spice mix is usually sold at middle eastern stores, specifically for this dish. However, you can make it yourself using turmeric, cardamom, white or black pepper, coriander, ginger and garlic powder. You’ll also need cornstarch to coat the fish along with the spices. This will provide crispiness!

• Long-grain Basmati Rice: this variety of rice will be the easiest to cook without turning into mush. It will be fluffy with separate grains. Also, if you’re new to cooking rice, make sure you read through my tips on this rice recipes post.

• Yellow onions: you will need to thinly slice 3 onions (I use a mandolin and it has changed my life). You can use white onions as well. The onions are fried until crispy in neutral vegetable oil (I use avocado oil).

• Almonds and Parsley for garnish. You can also use pine nuts.

How to Make This Recipe (Step by Step)

In a large skillet with high sides (the one I used is 2 inches deep), I usually start by frying the almonds in the vegetable oil for a few minutes until they’re golden. Remove and set them aside.

When you start to see the bottoms and the edges of the onions browning, use a spatula or tongs and toss them around so that the uncooked parts are in the middle of the pan. Once all of them are golden, remove from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.

Fry the onions in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan and leading to uneven cooking. One batch of onions should take 6 to 8 minutes.

Note: You can skip the crispy fried onions as the topping. If you do that, simply finely dice 2 onions and cook in vegetable oil until they are softened and golden, then proceed with cooking the rice. You’ll still get the onion flavour in the rice, and this is a quicker method if you’re intimidated by frying onions.

Next, mix together all the spices. Use half of the spice mixture and combine it with the remaining cornstarch to create the fish fillet coating.

In a large flat plate, place the cornstarch and spice mixture and spread it out. Make sure the fish fillets have been patted dry really well.

Place the fillets into the cornstarch mixture and turn on all sides, patting them down gently to coat them evenly.

Repeat this step with all of the cod fillets and place on a plate or board.

In the same skillet that was used to fry the onions (this is important because we want the onion oil to be used and add more flavour), start pan-frying the fish. You may need to add an extra few glugs of oil as needed.

Fry the fish for approximately 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until the fish is opaque white and no longer translucent, and when it flakes easily with a fork.

Fry the fish in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. If you add too many fish, they won’t crispy up as much and will start to steam. Remove the cooked fillets and place on a paper towel lined plate. Use a fish spatula to handle the fish, to avoid it breaking.

Next, place half the quantity of fried onions back into the skillet along with the rest of the seasoning mix. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute to bloom the spices.

Add the washed and drained basmati rice to the skillet and mix very gently to combine with the onions and spices. Add the water, bring to a boil, then cover and cook for 20 minutes undisturbed.

Fluff the rice with a fork very gently, then allow it to stand for 10 minutes before plating.

To serve, spoon the yellow rice in a platter, top with the fish fillets, then the crispy fried onions and the almonds. You can also garnish with finely chopped parsley.

Serving Suggestions and Tips

Traditionally, Sayadieh is served with tarator, which is a lemony tahini sauce, as well as a side salad like my finely chopped Arabic salad. This Lebanese cabbage salad always pairs well with this meal too.

Also, here are a few tips to keep in mind for best results:

• Pat the fish dry really well to ensure it doesn’t fall apart when being pan fried.
• Use the suggested water to rice ratio in the recipe for fluffy rice.
• Slice the onions using a mandolin if you have one to get even slices, for even frying.

If you are intimidated by frying onions evenly, you can also dice one onion and soften it and skip to making the rice directly. This means you won’t have crispy onions as a topping but the dish will still be delicious! This makes it a lot quicker to make as well.

If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!