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Ikan Assam Pedas (Hot-and-sour Fish Stew)

Ikan Assam Pedas (Hot-and-sour Fish Stew) is a traditioinal Malaysian recipe for a classic aromatic but light curry of fish and okra in an aromatic rempah base with plenty of tamarind. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Malaysian version of: Hot-and-sour Fish Stew (Ikan Assam Pedas).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

75 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurrySpice RecipesHerb RecipesMalaysia Recipes

This classic Malay and Minangkabau dish is very aromatic and moreish, that's served in more of a thin broth than a thick curry. Traditionally it’s laced with torch ginger flower, a particular aromatic spice that can be hard to source. However, the easily obtainable Vietnamese coriander would work as a reasonable substitute. Note that the spice paste needs to be fried in lots of oil, as this is the best way to bring out the fragrance. Similarly, be heavy-handed with the tamarind; the dish is meant to be lip-smackingly sour. This is typically made with barracuda, however I’ve substituted mackerel here (it’s in the same family, is more easily sourced and my wife and I love it).

Ingredients:

For the rempah:
90g red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
80g lemongrass, green tops discarded, the rest roughly chopped
90g long red chilli, roughly chopped
6g shrimp paste (belacan, ideally; otherwise, Thai kapi is widely available)
8 pieces dried kashmiri chilli, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
½ tsp ground turmeric

For the fish:
100ml vegetable oil, or other neutral oil
20g granulated sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
140g aubergine, cut into 6cm chunks (they’ll shrink when cooked)
1 plum tomato, halved lengthways
50g tamarind concentrate (ideally, the light brown south-east Asian type)
120g okra
2 mackerel, cleaned, or 4 x roughly 140g fillets
Chopped mint and coriander, to finish

Method:

For the spice paste (rempah) imply combine all the paste ingredients in a blender and blitz smooth. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.

Place a deep saucepan over medium heat. When hot add the oil and use to fry the rempah, stirring regularly, for about 20 minutes, until the oil separates. Add the sugar and salt, let it caramelise for a couple of minutes, then add the aubergine, tomato, tamarind and 500ml water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, then stir in the okra and simmer for five minutes more.

Reduce the heat to low, so no bubbles break the surface, then gently poach the fish in the stew for five to seven minutes, until the flesh flakes easily.

Season with extra tamarind, salt and sugar to taste, depending on whether you prefer it more sour, salty or sweet, and serve with rice and chopped mint and coriander.