Lekkerbekje

Comment: Can confirm that this is delicious but it needs sources. ~Styyx^Talk? 01:40, 22 July 2022 (UTC)

Lekkerbekje is the name for a fish dish with different meanings in Dutch and Flemish cuisine.

Meaning in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the lekkerbekje is fried fish. The fish fillets are first put through a batter made of water, flour and salt. Then the fillets are deep-fried. Tasty fishes are also eaten with remoulade sauce.

In the past, whiting and cod were used for Lekkerbekje. In the Netherlands, whiting was always 'fish for the taking', a cheap type of fish. People therefore looked for a tasty way to give this low-fat fish a new image. This is how the Lekkerbekje came into being. The Lekkerbekje is a very appropriate name for this fish that feeds on shrimp, a delicacy from the sea. On request, however, a Lekkerbekje made from cod can be ordered from many fishmongers, often at a higher price.

Nowadays ^[when?], different fish species such as hake, pollack or haddock are used for Lekkerbekje, as whiting and cod have become scarce due to overfishing. Hake is now also overfished and juvenile whiting are often caught as bycatch as fish that are too small. For a number of years, therefore, the farmed freshwater fish species Pangasius pangasius has been used for a Lekkerbekje, which many Lekkerbekje enthusiasts have criticized for its ground taste. The Pangasius pangasius mostly comes from the polluted Mekong Delta in Vietnam, where the fish is farmed en masse in large basins. Nowadays, the previously mentioned fish species are chosen more often. More and more fishmongers are specifying which fish species they use for Lekkerbekje, specialties or kibbeling.

Meaning in Flanders

In Belgium, rolled sour herring topped with sauce is sold as a gourmet snack. The pickled herring, often incorrectly called Pekelharing in Flanders, is rolled up along with the pickled ajuin and then topped with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. Category:Seafood Category:Dutch cuisine