My dad was a government servant and we
stayed in government quarters until he retired. My early years were in
Sungei Besi government quarters. Most of our neighbors were Malays. We
were so close with our immediate Malay neighbor that we were practically spending
our days in their home more than ours. We spoke fluent Bahasa Malaysia and eat all
types of Malay food. When the government quarters were demolished, we
moved to Brickfields whereas my Malay kakaks and abangs went on to live
somewhere else.
For as long as I
can remember, we were still connected. With
the ups and downs of life we went through, we lost touch. Though we attempted to find them,
sad to say we did not. I still have conversations with my mum on the glorious and happy moments of growing up with this wonderful Malay family. Well, we
have not given up. If possible we want to be connected to all of them but let's see where faith
and the power of friendship will lead us.
So that’s the background story why I love
Malay food. When I tied the knot with my other half, he became curious and
puzzled on my fondness for sambal belacan, asam pedas, masak lemak, tempoyak,
budu, petai and the list goes on. He cannot stand the smell of budu and tempoyak but is slowly enjoying
petai. Asam pedas, my favorite became his too.
You can use any kind of firm white fish
but don’t miss on bawal hitam (black pomfret).
For the veg, either brinjal or lady fingers can be considered. Go ahead and indulge
into this typical Malaysian sour spicy lip smacking asam pedas with white rice.
Ingredients
500g (one medium size) bawal hitam/pomfret
– scale, gut and cut into pieces
2 pcs asam keeping/dried tamarind
3-4 Chinese brinjals – cut lengthwise.
1 bunga kantan/torch ginger bud – shredded
10 cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato –cut
into eight pieces
½ cup oil
1 ½ tsp sugar
Salt for taste
Rempah/Spices (blend/ground to a thick smooth paste)
½ inch ginger
5 garlic
5 shallots
1 lemongrass/serai
10 dried red chilies (or as per taste)
1 inch kunyit hidup/fresh turmeric
1 inch lengkuas/galangal
Method
When oil is heated, fry spices till
aromatic and oils splits.
Add ½ liter of water and put in tomatoes,
brinjals, asam, salt and sugar.
Stir and simmer.
When gravy is heated through, drop in fish
slowly.
Continue to simmer until fish is cooked.
Stir in bunga kantan and remove from heat.
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Life in the good old days was always fun,
ReplyDeletei live with malay and indian neighbors.
What a beautiful exotic curry :)
ReplyDeleteCheers
Choc Chip Uru
I hope you find them all! What a lovely life :)
ReplyDeleteAnd this fish looks faaaaabulous!
I can never make such beautiful fish curries. Nava you cook great seafood.
ReplyDeleteyummy ms.nava been looking all over your past entry for asam pedas recipe, even cross the mind to request from you to make asam pedas post but i was so shy to said it haha.. but finally you had it posted now ms.nava =D im gonna try this recipe one day for sure..thank u for sharing..
ReplyDeletehi nava, like you enjoy malay cooking, i also like a lot of indian foods like roti canai, capati, tosei, naan, chicken tikka, biryani , mutton curry, chutneys etc etc ..hey, never relised there so many more :) neans i like spicy food very much..
ReplyDeletethe veggies combination for your asam pedas if perfect for my taste buds.. something new for me> will try black pomfret next time, so far been using stingray/ ikan parang/ senangin.
This is one of my fave dishes guaranteed to have me eating 2 days worth of rice in one sitting.
ReplyDeleteMy mouth turns sourish just by looking at this assam fish. This is one of my hubby's fave dish & yours is certainly appetizing. I'm back from my vacation. Have u been shopping & eating like me?? Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteThis looks so appetizing Nava! Can't help drooling!
ReplyDelete