Species sheet · The Edible River
Nile tilapia
The fish that carries its young in its mouth.
- Whole, fried, with lemon and cumin as in Egypt
- Grilled with chermoula or chilli
- Fillets pan-fried with tomato and onion sauce
- In French
- Tilapia du Nil
- Scientific name
- Oreochromis niloticus
- In the water
- A fish of the warm, still waters of Africa, from the Nile to the great lakes, now the pond and tank fish of farms on every continent.
- Season & buying
- Year-round, almost always farmed; ask where it comes from, the water quality makes the flavour.
- Common length
- ~25 cm
- How to identify it
- Deep, compressed olive-grey body
Tail fin striped with fine vertical bars
One long spiny dorsal fin
On the plate
White, lean, mild flesh with little character of its own, it takes on whatever you give it.
Avoid: Cooking the fillets too long: they are thin and dry out in a moment.
The female keeps her eggs, then her fry, inside her mouth and calls them back with a signal at the slightest alarm. The ancient Egyptians were already painting it on tomb walls.
In Umay recipes
2 Umay recipes call for it.
