Wenky's Gastronomia

Assam Fish

Materials:

Method:

Add 300ml water and massage paste to completely dissolve assam paste
Add water till paste assumes consistency of cooked instant soup
Filter out seeds and large bits
Do not scale the fish! Do not remove the innards either! Just wash.
Chop fish up into 1/3 or quarters, into sections roughly 2.5" across
Boil assam mix together with shallots & dried chilli
Add 1 cube of commercial ikan bilis stock
Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
Bring to a rolling boil, then ladle fish gently into the assam mix. Do not stir.
When assam mix is boiling again, simmer on low heat (preferrably charcoal) overnight.
Add salt to taste
Watch out for bones.

Posted by R. on Saturday, May 02, 2009 at 3:40 AM | Permalink

Dedications

First and foremost to YX, for her unwavering support of my multiple culinary misadventures and marsh wiggle-like character - putting a brave face to the worst cooking ever;
Also, to my partner in crime Montyelm, for his utter creativity and bravado during the steamed mango episode, which inspired many;
To all members of my family, for subjecting them to years of torture with semi-edible food - including purple macaroni, rock-hard lasagne and nauseating bouillabaisse;
And finally to several friends who also share this same passion of cooking up - quite literally - a pot of nonsense.

An oft-heard complaint - I can make the same dish on 2 separate occasions, and they turn out to be as different from each other, as ferns are different from a mammal! Yes, I'm a firm believer of the old nanny's "a pinch of salt, a scatter of cheese and a squeeze of lemon". Here I chronicle the various dishes that I've ever tried myself, and hopefully in a reproducible manner!