Spanish Mackerel in a Tamarind Broth

Name: Spanish Mackerel in a Tamarind Broth
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Malaysia
Ingredients: 3 long eggplants (aubergines); 40 red shallots or 5 red onions; 15 cm (6 in) piece fresh galangal; 45 g (1½ oz) dried red chilli peppers; 7 cups (1.75 litres/3 imp. pints) tamarind water; 5 cm (2 in) piece fresh turmeric; 6 lemon grass stalks, each cut into 2 pieces; 6 portions Spanish mackerel, 155 g (5 oz) per person; 30 g (1 oz) shrimp paste, roasted; 4 candlenuts; 1¼ cups (310 g/10 oz) white granulated sugar; 4 tablespoons peanut oil; 2 tablespoons Peanut (groundnut) oil; 2 teaspoons sea salt; Steamed rice for serving

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Taste of Australia

By Victoria Alexander and Genevieve Harris

Published 1995

About

This is a traditional Nonya dish. Nonya or Perenakan cuisine is a mixture of Malaysian and Chinese cooking styles and ingredients.

Ingredients

15 cm (6 in) piece fresh galangal
5 cm (2

Asia
Malaysia
Pescatarian
Soup
South East Asia
Gluten-free

Method

TO MAKE PASTE, peel and roughly chop the galangal and turmeric. Soak the dried chilli peppers in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain, discard the water and roughly chop the chilli peppers. Roughly chop the candlenuts. Place all of these in a food processor or blender (in batches), along with the roasted shrimp paste. Add the peanut oil and process to a fine paste. Peel the red shallots or o