asam rebus kepala ikan bawal

A simple yet satisfying dish
very easy to cook and nutritious too as no oil is used in the cooking
it has the spiciness of the chilli yet sourish
a delicious treat when you are desperate for time :)

Here's how I cook it:


in a mortar, pound 1/2" fresh turmeric + 1/4" fresh ginger + 1 garlic + 3 shallots + pinch of belacan till fine 

then add 2 teasp of chilli paste into the mortar and mix all pounded ingredients well with the chilli paste

be careful at this stage as it gets watery and transfer this into a pot

crush the bottom of the lemongrass with the pestle and toss it into the pot

mix 1 teasp of tamarind with 1/2 cup water to make tamarind juice and pour it into the pot

add 2 cups water and mix all ingredients well

turn on the fire of the stove and let this boil

add in 5 ladies finger and 1 teasp salt and let it boil

when the ladies finger is cooked put in the fish head and continue to boil

allow it to simmer and taste the salt 

add more salt if necessary

off the fire

let the fish and vegetable rest before serving

indulge!!






a word on the fish
choice of fish is plentiful for this dish
I chose fish head because I've not cooked this dish with any fish head before
and it was definitely a winner..a blue ribbon!