What is Korea without Kimchi? It is a staple in many of their traditional dishes, it is so common to find it in all their meals as a side dish. It is usually made out of Napa cabbage, radish, some carrots and fused together with the red hot chili flake known as Gochugaru.
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Here we learn the most basic kimchi, it is a great introduction to fermentation and a great dish to make for any meal. So get your jars out and clear out a shelf because your whole kitchen is going to smell like kimchi soon.
Ikan Assam Pedas
Ikan Assam Pedas or Spicy Sour Fish. A simple home classic to any Malaysian home, you can ask any household member they will preach on the flavour and aroma of this dish. The perfect blend of sweet, spicy and sour paired with the delicate flavour of your favourite fish it is no shock that it is a house hold favourite.
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Greatly enjoyed with a steaming bowl of rice, friends, family members, and a range of side dishes this dish never fails to be the star of the dinner table. It is not easy to describe the flavours of this dish, but it is a lot easier to cook it than it seems. Usually made with tamarin but not everyone has access to that, so here I present a hacked version which tastes exactly the same but with easily available ingredients. Sweet, sour, spicy and all around delicious.
ASSAMMMMM huh?
1.
Peel and quarter your onions. Peel your garlic and your ginger. Slice your ginger into little slices.
2.
Prep your lemon grass into little pieces. Chop up your chili into small pieces, you can use less if you want a less spicy sauce.
3.
Juice 1 whole lemon, you should have at least 1/4 cup's worth of lemon juice.
Ingredients
1.
Whole Seabass
2.
5 Cloves Garlic
3.
1 White Onion
4.
1 Thumb Size Ginger
5.
2 Stalks Lemon Grass
6.
4 Red Chilis
7.
1/2tb Curry Powder
8.
1 Lemon
9.
1tb Sugar
10.
Parsley
4.
Lay your seabass on a heat proof plate and stuff ginger into the body of your fish. Set your fish to steam for 12-15 minutes till cooked through.
5.
In a blender add in your chopped onions, garlic, lemon grass, chili, lemon juice, 1/2tb of curry powder and about 4-5tb of water. Blend till a smooth fragrant sauce forms.
6.
Heat up a pan with a little bit of oil on medium heat and fry off your sauce, let the smells and aroma fill up your kitchen.
7.
Once your whole kitchen smells amazing add in 1/4 cup of water along with 1tb of sugar into your sauce and mix well. Lower down the heat and allow to simmer till your fish is done steaming.
8.
Carefully remove the fish, draining any excess fish juices gathered on your steaming plate and pour your fragrant assam sauce on top.
9.
Top it off with some freshly chopped parsley and you got yourself a great yummy dish for the whole family.
You can add in more chili to make it hotter, or less to make it less spicy. Fine tune this sauce to your liking and have a blast with this simple but yummy dish.
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Do comment down below if you have any questions.
Happy Cooking,