Sayadiah - Lebanese Fish and Rice

Sayadiah Lebanese Fish & Rice
Sayadieh is a classic Lebanese fish and rice dish packed with warm spices, caramelised onions and perfectly cooked seafood. This Middle Eastern seafood recipe is a must-try for anyone who loves Arab cuisine and traditional Lebanese food.
In this video, I’ll show you how to make Sayadiah from scratch, including a rich homemade fish and prawn stock that takes the flavour to the next level. While traditional Sayadiah is made with whole fish, my version includes snapper fillets and prawns for extra variety. The rice is infused with cumin, cinnamon, and white pepper, creating an aromatic, deeply flavourful base. Topped with crispy fish, buttery prawns, toasted nuts, and golden caramelised onions, this dish is the perfect balance of spices, texture, and authentic Lebanese flavours.
RECIPE
1.5kg snapper or barramundi
500g green prawns
For the stock
fish head and bones (eyes & gills removed)
Prawn heads & shells
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
5 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Handful parsley stalks
3-4 garlic cloves
2 pieces lemon peel
1 coriander root
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
50g butter
5 cups water (or more to cover)
Fish & Prawns
2 snapper fillets, skin on
500g prawns, peeled and deveined
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Rice
2 cups long grain rice
4 tbsp cup olive oil
2 brown onions, finely sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Method
To make the stock:
Fillet the fish, leaving bones (or most fish mongers will do this for you). Discard fish eyes and gills. Cut the bones to fit into your stock pot. Place fish fillets into refrigerator until needed.
Remove heads and shells off prawns. and refrigerate prawn meat until needed.
Rinse the shells and heads to remove any grit.
Heat pot on medium heat. Add butter, onion, celery, carrot, bay leaves, garlic, lemon peel, whole cloves, coriander root, parsley stalks, thyme and salt.
Sauté them a little to enhance the flavour but don’t add colour.
Add shells and heads of prawns and fish head and bones to stock pot. Sauté until they change colour and any liquid in pot has mostly evaporated.
Pour in enough water to cover, bring to a boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Remember to remove any scum or foam that rises to the top as it simmers.
Strain the stock to remove solids, pressing on the shells to extract maximum flavour.
To make the rice:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan, add the finely sliced onions & fry until golden & caramelised. Remove 1/4 of the onions & set aside for serving.
The caramelised onions, add the rice, cumin, cinnamon, salt & pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the strained stock. Mix together, bring to the boil then reduce heat & leave to simmer for 11 minutes with lid on. After 11 minutes, turn off heat and leave lid on for a further 15 minutes so steam can continue cooking the rice.
To cook fish & prawns:
Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a large fry pan and add the nuts. Toast the nuts, stirring frequently until just golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
Pat the snapper fillets and prawns dry with paper towels.
Season everything with freshly ground salt, pepper and paprika.
In the same frypan heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the snapper first, skin-side down. Press lightly with a spatula for the first 30 seconds to keep the skin from curling. Cook for 3-4 minutes until crispy, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add another 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and cook the prawns. Sauté for 2 minutes per side until pink and opaque. Reduce heat to low, add butter & garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Squeeze over the lemon juice. Remove prawns from pan into the same plate as the fish and spoon the garlic butter over everything. Set aside & keep warm.
Serve the rice in a large serving dish topped with the fish, prawns, nuts, caramelised onions and freshly chopped parsley. This dish is perfect with a side of salad & a green salsa on top.
Green Salsa
Toss together:
1 cucumber, deseeded & diced
½ bunch finely chopped coriander
1/2 green capsicum
1/4 cup white vinegar
½ tsp freshly ground coriander seed
½ tsp freshly ground cumin seed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch salt
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