Kuah Lada

Kuah Lada is one of my husband's favourite dishes. The first time I had this dish was at my mother-in-law's place (I called her Auntie then) way back in the early 1970s. I acquired from her recipes of my husband's favourite dishes which I will be sharing by and by. There weren't any specific measurements of the ingredients required to cook the dishes. Everything was "agak, agak". I could jot down only the names of the ingredients. The rest was up to me to "agak, agak." The proof that I could cook just as well as my mother-in-law (ahem!) was a second helping of rice whenever I cooked those dishes for my husband.

Ingredients:

600g stingray, cut into serving pieces
2 long bringals, cut to size and soaked in salt water

Spices to be ground:
Galangal, 2" diameter, 1.5" long
Turmeric, 1 thumb length
Lemon grass, 1 stalk sliced
6 medium-sized onions
4 cloves garlic
1 heaped teaspoon belachan
10 candlenuts

Enough tamarind water strained from 4 heaped tablespoons tamarind to cook
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Salt and sugar to taste
Oil

Method:

1. Pour a little oil and stir fry spices and black pepper for 2 minutes over medium heat.
2. Add in fish and brinjals and gently stir fry for a few minutes.
3. Add in enough tamarind water to cover fish and brinjal and bring it to a boil.
4. Then simmer till both fish and brinjals are cooked.
5. Add salt and sugar to taste. The gravy should not be too watery.

This tangy dish is best eaten with sambal belachan. Yum, yum!