Na Skool Vis Finger & Rys Bredie (After School Fish-Finger and Rice Casserole)
Na Skool Vis Finger & Rys Bredie
Na Skool Vis Finger & Rys Bredie always felt like the kind of dish that belonged to late afternoons — the sun still hanging low, schoolbags dropped in the hallway, and the quiet shuffle of someone hungry long before supper. The rice was usually leftover from the night before, loosened with a fork and spread into the dish without ceremony. The fish fingers, still frozen and neatly lined up like little soldiers, were tucked on top, their orange crumb bright against the pale rice.
A quick sauce was poured over everything, sinking into the rice and softening the edges of the fish fingers as it baked. The smell that drifted from the oven was unmistakable: warm, savoury, a little nostalgic, the kind of scent that made you hover near the kitchen even if you weren't planning to. When it came out, the top was lightly crisp, the rice underneath creamy and full of flavour. It wasn't fancy, and it didn't pretend to be. It was the kind of meal that tasted like home — quick, comforting, and exactly right for the moment it was made.
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing the oven dish
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 litre curry sauce (or 1 litre liquid with Rajah curry powder)
- 375 ml thick white sauce (béchamel)
- Cheese, to preference
- 2 cups cooked rice
- Lemon juice to sprinkle over fish fingers
- Store-bought (or home-made) fish fingers, enough to arrange over the rice
- Paprika for sprinkling
- Tomato slices for topping
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Grease an oven dish.
- Fry the chopped onion, then add the curry sauce and simmer to combine.
- Make or heat a thick white sauce and mix with the onion/curry mixture and grated cheese.
- Put the cooked rice into the dish and sprinkle lemon juice over the fish fingers.
- Arrange the fish fingers on top of the rice.
- Pour the white-sauce/onion/cheese mixture over the fish fingers and rice.
- Sprinkle with paprika and arrange tomato slices on top.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes until browned and heated through.