Fish In Tamarind Soup (Hoo Khong Asam)

By pixen

Ingredients

• For the Soup:
• 300 g -500 g Spanish Mackerel fish - cleaned and gutted
• 3 - 6 pcs Tamarind slices
• 4 cm Fresh Tumeric - washed & roughly sliced or bruised
• 10 g -15 g Fresh Vietnamese Mint Leaves/Laksa Leaves - washed & trim the leaves.
• 4 - 6 pcs Fresh Red Chillies or Bird's Eye Chillies
• 2-3 nos Tomatoes - quartered
• 5 - 10 nos Shallots - cleaned and roughly crushed
• 1 stalk Ginger Flower - remove stem & cut the flower bud into half or quarters
• 4 - 8 pcs Ladies Fingers (Okra) - washed and cut into halves
• 2 stalks Lemongrass - use only the white parts & lightly bruised
• 10 g Galangal - washed, remove dirt and bruised skin, sliced thinly
• 10 g Shrimp Paste (Belacan)
• 1 liter of Water
• Salt and Sugar OR Fish Sauce to taste

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from pixieate.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Prepare all the vegetables and set aside.
2. Trim off the fins and tail of the fish. If the fish is large, cut into halves. Set aside.
3. In a pot, heat the water until it boils. Put in all the vegetables except Ladies Fingers/Okra and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium and let it boils until the liquid changes color.
4. Add in the Ladies Fingers/Okra and Tomatoes.
5. Let the soup boils for few seconds and add in the fish.
6. Add in salt and sugar or Thai fish sauce to taste.
7. Continue to boil the soup until fish is cooked.
8. Serve hot with rice.

Notes: If you can find Belimbing Buluh or Belimbing Masam (Averrhoa Bilimbi) is even better to add sourness into the soup as Tamarind slices or Asam Gelugor (Garcinia atroviridis) considered by locals to be too strong for the stomach. Please use sparingly, if you're prone to gastric problems. I preferred to use seafood like fish or prawns for this recipe instead of meat. If you can't find Shrimp Paste or Belacan, you can omit it and adjust the taste with more Fish Sauce. Always remember to taste your cooking several times and adjust accordingly.