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Samia' Metchou Peng Pa (Khmer Fish Stew with Lemongrass)

Samia' Metchou Peng Pa (Khmer Fish Stew with Lemongrass) is a traditional Cambodian recipe for a classic stew of fish steaks cooked in a tamarind and lemongrass flavoured broth with green tomatoes and herbs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Cambodian version of: Khmer Fish Stew with Lemongrass (Samia' Metchou Peng Pa).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Herb RecipesVegetable RecipesCambodia Recipes


Ingredients:

4 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed and smashed flat with the side of a cleaver
3 tbsp tamarind pulp
340g fish steaks (eg snakehead fish, catfish, tilapia or any firm freshwater fish)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
225g green tomatoes, de-seeded and cut into 12mm pieces
6 mustard leaves, halved
2 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 12mm lengths
4 fresh culantro (sawtooth herb) leaves, coarsely chopped
12 Thai basil leaves, coarsely chopped
5 rice paddy herb sprigs, coarsely chopped
1 tsp sugar, or to taste

Method:

Combine the lemongrass with 1l water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, half-covered. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for a few minutes.

Remove about 250ml of the liquid with a ladle. Place in a small bowl and whisk in the tamarind pulp until dissolved then set aside. Wash and pat dry the fish then cut the steaks in half. Add these to the simmering lemongrass broth along with the garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is opaque. Add the fish sauce and season to taste with the salt.

Strain the tamarind mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into the soup then stir the soup, bring back to a simmer and cook for several minutes before adding the tomatoes, spring onions, culantro, Thai basil and rice paddy herbs. Now stir in the sugar. Add the mustard greens, return to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Take the soup off the heat and turn into a large bowl. Serve accompanied by rice and a plain vegetable stir-fry.