Description
This recipe is for a sour and spicy fish soup, originally from Palembang in Sumatra. Light and refreshing, this soup has complex flavours from a variety of ingredients including pineapple, lemongrass and tomatoes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 patin fish (medium sized, around 1 kg)
- 8 shallots, peeled, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
- 3 big red chillies, chopped
- 8 bird’s eye chillies (optional)
- 0.5 teaspoon roasted shrimp paste (optional)
- 3 cm fresh turmeric, peeled, chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger, peeled, sliced
- 3 cm fresh galangal, peeled, bruised or sliced
- 2 fresh/dried salam leaves
- 3 fresh/dried kaffir lime leaves
- 1 lemongrass, use only the white part, bruised and knotted
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp tamarind
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 750 ml water
- 2 red tomatoes, quartered
- 100 gr sliced fresh pineapple
- 1 cup kemangi leaves (Indonesian basil)
Instructions
- Cut the patin fish into 3-4 pieces each, rinse thoroughly with fresh cold water. Drizzle fresh lime juice (from one lime) and salt all over the fish, mix thoroughly, set aside for 15 minutes while preparing steps 2-3 below.
- Mix the tamarind with 3 tbsp water, knead into a liquid paste, strain the juice, set aside.
- Using a blender or food processor, blend the shallots, garlic, 3 bird’s eye chillies (optional), big red chillies and turmeric into a fine paste.
- Wash the marinated fish from step 1 thoroughly, set aside.
- In a wok, heat vegetable oil over high heat.
- Add the blended spices, roasted shrimp paste, galangal, ginger, salam leaves, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, salt and sugar. Fry until fragrant, around 4 minutes.
- Add the water and tamarind/lemon juice.
- Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning. The taste should be sweet and sour with a well balanced salt.
- Add the fish, pineapple and the remaining 5 whole bird’s eye chillies. Simmer for another 15 minutes over medium to low heat.
- When done, add the tomatoes and the basil leaves. Gently stir and immediately turn off the heat.
Notes
- Patin fish can be difficult to get outside Southeast Asia, so feel free to substitute it with other types of fish such as mackerel, snapper or tuna. If fresh fish is unavailable, use frozen fish, making sure to thaw it properly before using it.
- Use as much fresh spice as possible, but if unavailable, substitute the fresh turmeric and galangal with their powders, and, and salam leaves, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass can be substituted with the dried versions.
- Tamarind can be substituted with lemon, lime or apple cider vinegar.
- Bird’s eye chillies are optional, but red chillies are recommended as they add to the flavour of the dish.
- If Indonesian Basil is not available, substitute it with Thai Basil.
Keywords: One-pot meals, spicy, fish, ikan