Steamed Fish with Chai Po

Hello there! I've been MIA for quite a while.
Probably went astray and couldn't find my way back.
Nah! Seriously, I have been procastinating! That's a 'bad' word!
Blame it on K-drama! Blame it on Plants & Zombies!
Okay! Okay! The blame's on me!


A couple of weeks ago, my dear hubby went on another fishing trip. This time he spent 4 days and 3 nights on the high seas off some Indonesian island. The weather was bad, the waves were high, the boat was rocking, getting seasick was inevitable! I was anxious for his safety especially after the recent incident off Pulau Aur.
Thank God! He returned safely with a big load of fish! Though the sea was rough, the catch was good! What price to pay for such rewards!!
As usual,we distributed the fish to relatives, friends and neighbours.
And we kept some favourites and this one ended up on the table the very next day!

The Red Grouper was Number ONE on our table, dressed in
chai po!

The crew scaling the Snappers, making it easier for me!

More Snappers!

Groupers grouping in a group! (LoL!)

Steamed Fish with Chai Po
A packet of sweet chai po (preserved white radish)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 to 4 chilli padi, sliced
Spring onions for garnishing
Oil

1. Saute garlic for a minute, then add in chai po and chilli and fry for 5 minutes. Set aside.

2. Prepare steamer. Once water boils, place fish in and steam for about 8 mimutes. Timing to cook fish depends on its size and thickness.

3. Once fish is done, pour chai po over and garnish. Yum!

Fin up! You're first !

Yummy Yum Yum!

Spicy Tamarind Fish (2)

I cooked half of a diamond..... err diamond trevally or ikan chermin in Malay.

This was one of the fish my hub caught. (Forgot to take a pic)

It was quite big, almost 2 kg. I chopped the fish into two.

So today I used the tail part to cook assam pedas.

The head... hmmm.... maybe curry!

The Recipe:(In the previous recipe, I used buah keluak paste)

600g fish

A

250g peeled onions (1/2 shallots and 1/2 big onions)

3 cloves garlic

1 thumb-sized, thumb-length turmeric/kunyit

3 stalks lemon grass/serai (2 stalks to be ground and 1 stalk, bruised)

5 fresh red chillies and 5 dried chillies (add more if extreme spiciness is preferred)

3-cm galangal/lengkuas

1 teaspoon belachan/shrimp paste

B

1 small pineapple, sliced

6 lady's fingers

a small bunch of laksa leaves

tamarind/ assam water (if more tangy, use more tamarind to soak in water and how thick or diluted gravy preferred)

100ml thick coconut milk (optional)

Oil

Salt and sugar to taste

1. Grind ingredients in A.

2. Heat enough oil in a pot and fry A till fragrant.

3. Add in tamarind water, pineapple, some laksa leaves and fish. Bring to a boil.

4. Then add lady's fingers, salt and sugar to taste. (If using coconut milk, to add now) Boil for a while to cook the lady's fingers and it's done!

5. Serve with rice.

Steamed Fish

I love steamed fish and I only cook them this way if they are fresh.

These were two of the haul brought home by my hub from his fishing trip.

I picked on these two because I like my fish to be of a certain size, no bigger than 14 inches or 36 cm.

First I prepare the sauce which would be poured over the fish after steaming.

Then I use the microwave to 'steam' the fish plain. After which I discard whatever juices that come from the fish. This tip was given to me by my brother-in-law. According to him, it is to lessen the fishy flavour which I discovered it to be true. Since then I've always applied this method when steaming fish.

Pour the heated sauce over the fish and then garnish.

The Sauce: (can be made in bulk and store in air-tight container in freezer)

5-cm ginger

6 or more cloves garlic

8 small onions/shallots

1 tablespoon soya bean paste/taucheo

5 or more fresh red chillies (depends on preference for spiciness)

lemon juice from 2 lemons

1/2 cup thick tamarind/assam water

sugar & salt to taste

oil

corn flour mixed with a little water (to thicken gravy slightly)

Chopped ginger, garlic, onions and chillies finely but not to paste-like.

Heat enough oil, and saute chopped ingredients and soya bean paste till fragrant.

Add tamarind water and lemon juice.

Add salt and sugar to taste.

Add cornflour and stir and let boil for a while. Remove and pour over cooked fish.

Making this sauce is up to personal taste. I like to be able to taste the ginger and garlic, the gravy to be sweet and salty yet tangy.

If you find the sauce too thick, simply add a little water to dilute.

The Grr...grouper!

Snappy Red Snapper!

The three of us practically clean up the fish to the bones! Very fresh indeed! Superb sauce! :P

Grilled Fish or Ikan Bakar

My hub came back from a 5-day fishing trip at Pulau Dayang which is off Malaysia. As usual he would bring home so many fish that I would sigh silently.

Two problems I face :

(1) I dislike having to scale and de-gut all those fish. I would get poked by the dorsal fins and the hard gills. You might suggest that I put on gloves but I don't know how to work with gloves on.

(2)There's limited space in the freezer for all that catch.

The amount of fish could easily last us for more than two months if we were to eat them daily! Though having a fish diet is good for health, but can you imagine eating them every day! I'll probably sprout gills and scales!

The solution to this was to give some away to relatives, friends and neighbours which I was quietly elated when my hub suggested.

Now that the supply has dwindled after all the distribution, I am happier and less-stressed.

Now hub can have the fish cooked his favourite way!

Grilled Fish or Ikan Bakar (Malay literal translation for burnt fish) is a simple dish to prepare accompanied by a simple sauce. Usually the fish is grilled over charcoal. But I used a grill pan to 'pan fry' without oil to get the burnt effect.

The fish is eaten with a sauce made of sliced shallots, green chillies, lime juice and dark soya sauce.

Scad or Ikan Selar

All grilled!

Ready for the table

The Sauce

Spicy Sting Ray (Ikan Pari)

I've been cooking rather simple fare and quite bland food for a while. It's time for a slight change of menu. My poor husband simply cannot eat bland food for too long. He doesn't care if it's for health's sake. So on days when I don't cook, he would go off and return with a big packet of Malay food and rice. To make up to him, I cooked his favourite fish - sting ray or ikan pari in Malay. It is a very easy dish to cook.

Sting ray was not a popular fish before, but now the demand for it is so great that its cost has escalated many times more. But we have to eat!

What I Used:

About 700g sting ray, cut into chunks

(Before cutting, remove the black skin(topside) or scrape with a knife to remove the 'dirt'. I prefer to remove the skin. Next scrape the white part(underside) to remove the slime. Rub salt and scrub with hands, then rinse and cut)

1 large onion, sliced

3 to 4 kaffir lime leaves

1 tomato, wedged

To be ground:

2 medium-sized onions

4 dried chillies, soaked and drained

2 fresh red chillies

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon belachan

1 packet coconut cream (I used Kara)

salt to taste

water

oil

What I Did:

1. Heat oil and saute sliced onions and ground ingredients till the oil comes through.

2. Add fish and stir gently to cover the pieces with the spices.

3. Add some water and simmer till fish is cooked.

4. Add kaffir lime leaves, tomato and coconut cream and some water (depends on how much gravy you want). Add salt and bring to a boil. Remove from stove and serve.

Tom Yam Chilli Sambal Fish

I have a pack of about five 20-cm groupers left from my hubby's last fishing trip. I don't mind eating fish but I dislike having to scale and clean them. In fact I have been putting off cooking this last batch for a while.

To make my job easier, I chopped off the heads and belly - I don't have to wrestle with the gills and guts!!

I finally did it and as they were not fresh enough to be steamed, I make something spicy.

I had a jar of tom yam paste which I bought some months ago.

I had to use about 3/4 jar of paste before I was quite satisfied with the taste. It was still not good enough. I didn't get the 'oomph' I wanted.

I resorted to adding some home-made chilli sambal, 3 stalks of sliced serai and 4 chilli padi and WOW!

What I used:

Fish

3/4 jar tom yam paste

3 tablespoon chilli sambal

3 stalks serai, sliced thick

4 chilli padi, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

juice of one lemon

oil

salt and sugar to taste

water

What I did:

1. Fry onions, serai, chilli, tom yam paste and sambal.

2. Add in lemon juice and some water.

3. Bring to a boil and season the gravy before adding the fish.

4. Simmer till the fish is cooked.

5. Serve with a spoonful of nonya achar.

Spicy Tamarind Fish (1)

There are about 8 fish awaiting in the freezer. They were the ones brought home by my husband when he last went fishing at Pulau Dayang.

Since I had the time this morning, I decided to cook 2 medium-sized snappers. I took them out to thaw and then proceeded to scale and remove the guts. I dislike doing it because I always end up getting poke in the fingers by their sharp fin tips. Don't suggest wearing gloves 'cos I can't work in them.

As I have mentioned before, I would usually prepare certain spices and store them in air-tight containers for future use. Well today is one of those days. Hmm.....Let me see what do I have..... buah keluak paste, ground galangal, green curry, ground dried prawns, stock and chilli sambal.
Now, what shall I cook?

It's spicy and tangy.......It's ikan masak assam pedas!


This is what I used:

2 medium-sized fish, cleaned and rub a little salt all over including the gut area

2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 medium-size onion, sliced

4 heaped tablespoon chilli sambal (I use this for nasi lemak)
1 heaped tablespoon buah keluak paste
1 teaspoon ground fresh galangal (lengkwas/ lam keom)

100g tamarind paste mixed with 500ml water and strain for the assam juice
1 can sliced pineapples, drain and keep the syrup for cooking (I did not have any lady's fingers or brinjal, so I used what I had in the cupboard)

some sliced lemon (I had some leftover from previous bake)
a few kaffir lime leaves (daun purut)

oil, enough to cover the pot base
sugar and salt to taste
water, if required to increase gravy

This is what I did:

1. Heat oil, and stir fry the spices, garlic and onion till fragrant.

2. Add tamarind juice, pineapple syrup, lemon slices, salt and sugar to taste and bring to boil.

3. Add in the fish and cover pan and cook for about 10 minutes or till fish is cooked (depends on size and thickness of flesh).

4. Remove fish to a dish. Add sliced pineapple and kaffir lime leaves into the gravy and bring to a boil.

5. Spoon gravy and pineapple slices over fish and serve with rice.

Fish and Veggie

Easy to prepare and just use what you have at home - that's how sometimes I come up with dishes for lunch. Makes me sound pretty laid back. But hey! Cooking has its flexibilities and allows creativity. Long ago, mothers simply 'agak'( estimated)the ingredients when it came to cooking. I believe that there are still many mums doing that. I find it quite cumbersome having to weigh everything just to cook a dish. Of course when it comes to baking, it's totally different. The result of your cakes depends on the exact weight of the ingredients required.

I decided to do a fish, a veggie and of course beef rendang which I froze some when I cooked for CNY(a habit to cook extra and stash some away in the freezer for later use).

Ingredients for the fish dish:

A white pomfret, medium-sized, cut into 3 (can be whole fish)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 red and 1 green chilli, sliced
A few slices of lemon (happened to find it in the fridge)
Lemon juice from 1 lemon
3 tablespoons Buah keluak paste*
About 100ml coconut milk (packet)
Salt and sugar to taste
Oil

Method:

1. Marinate fish with some salt and pepper, put aside for half and hour.
2. Pat dry fish and deep fry till crispy. (You can eat the bones of white pomfret when fried to a
crisp)
3. Heat enough oil in a pan and stir fry onion, garlic and buah keluak paste for a minute or so.
4. Add in lemon juice, coconut milk, salt and sugar. If the gravy is too thick, add a little water.
5. Add in the sliced chilli and lemon slices and bring to boil for a few seconds.
6. Pour gravy over the fish and serve immediately if you want the crispiness of the fish.
Otherwise, you can put in the fish at step 5.



Ingredients for Veggie Omelette:

I small bowl of shredded cabbage
Half a carrot, shredded
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
Some sliced red chilli
2 eggs, beaten with some salt
Salt to taste
Oil
Water

Method:

1. Stir fry onion and garlic for a while.
2. Add carrot and cabbage and some salt and fry for a minute.
3. Add a little water to fry the veggies.
4. Add the chilli and then the egg.
5. Turn over the omelette once to cook the other side.
6. Serve hot.

You can substitute cabbage with bayam (spinach) or chinese leek.
There you have it, 2 simple dishes for a meal.

As for the buah keluak paste*, I stock up on this whenever I cook Buah keluak for CNY. This dish is a favourite with my daughters and nephew. I only cook it for CNY dinner. That's why I always prepare extra because I can use the paste to cook different types of dishes as in the case of the fish dish. Even though the same paste is used, the taste and flavour can be different.
eg. I can use tamarind water and laksa leaves with some chilli padi to cook a another fish dish or use coconut milk and limau purut leaves (lime leaves) to cook chicken. The options are plenty. Just dare to try and be creative!

This is my version of Buah Keluak paste which I tweaked a little from my Mum-in-law's.

Ingredients: (does not include other ingredients that are not to be ground with)
This amount is good for about one and a half kg of meat.

Spices to be ground:

450g peeled onions
4 cloves garlic
70g sliced galangal (lengkwas)
50g sliced turmeric (kunyit)
2 pieces 6cm long lemon grass (serai), sliced
40g candlenuts (buah keras)
1 piece belachan (4x4x1cm)

I did not grind the chilli together because I can use the paste to cook non-spicy dishes.