When I made my sambal for nasi lemak last weekend, I made a point to prepare some extra spice paste for this Assam Pedas dish. While traditional Assam Pedas calls for ikan tenggiri (Spanish mackerel) or ikan pari (stingray), I used pomfret instead. (In the United States, even in California, it’s almost impossible to find fish commonly found in Malaysia.) I love pomfret and it’s a good substitute for Assam Pedas.
Recipe: Assam Pedas Pomfret
1 tomato (cut into wedges)
1 teaspoon of fish curry powder
2 sprigs of daun kesum (Vietnamese mint/Vietnames coriander)
5 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 tablespoon of palm sugar/sugar
Salt to taste
Spice Paste:
1 clove garlic
1 stalk of lemon grass (white part only)
4 shallots
8-10 dried chillies (depends how spicy you like)
1/2 tablespoon of belacan (prawn paste)
Tamarind Juice:
1 1/4 cup of water
Tamarind pulp (size of a small ping pong ball)
Method:
- Pound the spice paste with mortar and pestle or grind them in a food processor. Set aside.
- Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind pulp constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
- Heat oil and fry the spice paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the tamarind juice, fish curry powder and bring to boil.
- Add the tomato wedges and okras and bring to boil.
- Add the fish, salt, and palm sugar/sugar.
- Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
- Serve hot.
