Fesikh

Fesikh (Egyptian Arabic: فسيخ, romanized: fesīḵ, pronounced [fɪˈsiːx]) is a traditional Egyptian dish. It is consumed primarily, though not exclusively, during the Sham el-Nessim festival, a spring celebration that traces its origins to ancient Egyptian times and is observed as a national holiday in Egypt. Fesikh consists of salted, pickled, fermented and dried gray mullet of the genus Mugil, a saltwater fish that lives in both the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. In western Egypt, whitefish is used as an alternative.

The consumption of fesikh has roots traceable to antiquity. In his Histories, the Greek historian Herodotus provides a detailed account of Egyptian dietary habits. Among other practices, he records that the Egyptians "eat fish either raw and sun-dried, or preserved with brine". The methods described by Herodotus parallel those used in contemporary fesikh, indicating a long-standing culinary tradition maintained from antiquity to the present.