Sayadiya, the favorite dish of rice and fish of the residents of Yanbu, is fading away from their tables due to the death of old women who are burying the recipe along with them.

The dish is so valued by the residents of Yanbu to the extent that it is their symbol of hospitality. “Any guest who comes to this Red Sea coastal city would feel offended if he was not served Sayadiya,” said a resident who did not want his name to be published.

Sayadiya is very nutritious as it is made of the most tasty and nutritious types of fish including Saddle Grouper, Spotted Grouper and Parrot Fish. Most of the fishermen prefer to make this dish from fresh caught fish.

“Sayadiya is considered an element of our city’s heritage. Every place has a popular food characterizing it. In Yanbu, it is Sayadiya,” said Abdullah Al-Manzalawi.  He added that although many restaurants in the Kingdom serve it, it is of no comparison to that made in Yanbu.

The residents of Yanbu have crafted the art of cooking fish, which in turn has resulted in dozens of fish dishes including: Kofta, Maqlouba, Kabiba, Tartour (fish with tahina) and Tajen (fish created the Zarb way).

Saleh Al-Qarafi, the owner of Qarafi restaurant — one of the most famous restaurants in Yanbu — shares the Yanbu recipe for making Sayadiya:

The fish is soaked, marinated then fried. The rice is also soaked for half an hour. The heads of the fish are then cut off and boiled to make a broth. This broth is then taken and blended in the blender with caramelized onions. After that, the broth is used to cook the rice on a low flame. When all is done, the fried fish is served on a plate of rice, which is decorated with parsley and lemon. Ghee is also added to the dish to make it even more delicious.

Salem Al-Hajouri, another resident, said the rice, which is used for the Sayadiya, is brown in color as if painted in cocoa, which comes from an evergreen tree in South America. In fact, however, the brown color comes from the onions.

“Sayadiya is also made in many Egyptian cities and in a number of towns along the Red Sea coast but the most delicious that of Yanbu,” said Al-Hajouri. He added that many of the visitors of the coastal city still ask for Sayadiya.

Mahmoud Al-Qadi believes that Sayadiya in Yanbu has become a thing of the past of which only older women know how to prepare. In fact, young women don’t know how to prepare it and many of them are disgusted from the smell of fish in the house. As a result, they buy it ready-made even though it is usually tasteless. Today, homemade Sayadiya as become a rare treat.

Abdullah Al-Alouni recalled the days when the preparation of Sayadiya used to be a necessity for any woman to get married. “The would-be husbands would usually make it a precondition on their future wives to know how to make Sayadiya or else the marriage would not take place,” he said.

Al-Alouni explained that is because its preparation is sort of difficult and if she knew how to prepare the dish, it meant she could prepare any other kind of seafood dish.

“To our luck, young women today don’t know how to cook in general,” he added.