Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Sayadieh
The Lebanese fisherman's dish of spiced white fish over deeply caramelised onion rice, cooked in fish stock and crowned with toasted pine nuts.
Lebanese · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 45 min
~524 cal · 30g protein · 73g carbs · 12g fat · 4g fiber · 5g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Sayadieh takes its name from sayyad, the fisherman, and it is the great fish and rice dish of Lebanon's coast, tied above all to the fishing towns of Tripoli, Sidon and Tyre. It is festive food, cooked for family lunches, religious feasts and Ramadan tables, and it tastes unmistakably of the sea.
Its character comes from onions cooked patiently until they turn deep russet brown, almost candied, which tint the rice a dark, earthy gold and give it a savoury sweetness. White fish is dusted in spiced flour and fried, its trimmings simmered into a cumin-scented that then cooks the basmati, so the flavour of the fish runs through every grain. The whole thing is turned out onto a platter, topped with the flaked fish, more of the browned onions and a scatter of toasted pine nuts, and often served with a sharp lemon taratour alongside.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 1/2 lb firm white fish fillets such as cod, in chunks
2 cups basmati rice
4 large onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting the fish
3 cups fish made from the trimmings
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Lebanese seven-spice
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp parsley, chopped to garnish
Instructions
1
Dust the fish in flour seasoned with a little of the cumin and salt, then fry in the olive oil until golden on both sides, and lift out.
✎ Chef’s note
Frying the fish first, then using its oil for the onions and rice, is what carries the fish flavour through the whole dish.
2
In the same oil, cook the sliced onions slowly, stirring, until they turn deep russet brown and almost candied, taking care not to let them burn.
✎ Chef’s note
This deep browning is the whole point of sayadieh: pale onions give flat, blond rice, while properly browned ones give the dark colour and earthy sweetness the dish is known for. Set aside a handful for the top.
3
Stir the rice into the onions with the cumin, seven-spice and turmeric to toast for a minute, then pour in the fish stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
If you skip the fish trimmings, a good vegetable or seafood stock still works, but the trimming stock is the traditional soul of the dish.
4
Flake or set the fried fish back over the rice near the end so it warms through in the steam.
5
Turn the rice onto a platter and top with the fish, the reserved browned onions, the toasted pine nuts and the parsley, with lemon tahini alongside if you like.
Sayadieh, the fisherman's dish of coastal Lebanon (Tripoli, Sidon, Tyre).
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Beirut. Beirut sets the Levant's most generous mezze table, hummus, tabbouleh, kibbeh, and manakish, eaten slowly and shared widely. Mountains, sea, and a cosmopolitan history flavor the Lebanese capital.
🗺️
Lebanon. Lebanese cooking is the generous heart of the Levant, famous for its mezze, dozens of small plates like hummus, tabbouleh, and kibbeh meant for sharing. Olive oil, lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs brighten a table where hospitality means abundance.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Lebanon
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Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Sayadieh?
The Lebanese fisherman's dish of spiced white fish over deeply caramelised onion rice, cooked in fish stock and crowned with toasted pine nuts.
Where does Sayadieh come from?
Sayadieh is a Lebanese dish from Beirut, Lebanon.
Can Sayadieh be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Sayadieh recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Sayadieh safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Sayadieh take to make?
About 70 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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