Recipe Ingredient
- 350ml water
- 25g asam jawa paste
- 700g fish head, halved
- 5 lady´s fingers
- 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 stalks polygonum (daun kesom)
- Spice paste (blended)
- 5 fresh red chillies, seeded
- 3 dried chillies, soaked and seeded
- 1 tbsp sliced lemon grass
- 3 slices galangal
- 1 cm fresh turmeric root
- 10 shallots
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp belacan powder (shrimp paste powder)
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish curry powder
- Seasoning
- Adequate salt to taste
- 1/8 tsp sugar or to taste
- 1 tsp ikan bilis stock granules
- Garnishing
- 1 tbsp finely sliced torch ginger bud (bunga kantan)
Instructions
- Lightly season fish head with salt and pepper. Steam for 10 minutes. Remove and discard any excess water from the plate.
- Mix the water and asam jawa paste and strain the juice. Set aside. Heat oil in a saucepan. Fry blended spices and polygonum stalks until fragrant. Thin down with 2-3 tablespoons of the strained tamarind juice.
- Add the rest of the tamarind juice and lady´s fingers. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and adjust with seasoning to taste.
- Dish out gravy and pour over the fish. Continue steaming for a further 3-4 minutes or until the eyes of the fish pop out.
- Serve the dish with a sprinkling of sliced wild ginger bud.
