Monday, September 22, 2008

Kid Friendly Asam Pedas

I love asam pedas, but because I am allergic to belacan (fermented shrimp paste), I am often wary to eat it at restaurants, coz most often than not, they would put belacan in it. But I luuuuuuurrrve asam pedas.
I had some fish the other day and was bored with the usual curry, so I decided to try making asam pedas. Furthermore, I just brought some bunga kantan and daun kesum from Malaysia, so what better way to use them other than for asam pedas?
I browsed for recipes and found one that doesn't use belacan, here.
I didn't have some of the ingredients and I had to make it kid-friendly, so here's my modified version:

Kid Friendly Asam Pedas

Ingredients
Ground:
3 shallots, 2 pips garlic
3 pieces dried chillies (more if you like it spicier), cut up and soaked in hot water to soften
1/2 inch ginger
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp blackpepper corns

3 tbsp oil
1/2 large onion, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp mixed spices (fenugreek, poppyseeds, cumin)*
2 stalks curry leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
water (depends on how thick/thin you want the sauce to be)
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 medium sized fish (or 2 small fish), any kind you like
1 large tomato, cut into wedges
1/2 bunga kantan (?)
as much daun kesum as you like
salt and sugar to taste

Method
In a saucepot, heat up oil and saute sliced onions, mixed spices and curry leaves till fragrant.
Add ground ingredients, turmeric powder and tomato paste, let fry till a little dry and oil rises to the top.
Add water, tamarind pulp and oyster sauce, bring to a boil.
Add in the rest of the ingredients (fish + leaves), let simmer till fish is cooked.
Add salt and sugar to taste.
Serve with steamed white rice.


Asam Pedas Ikan Kembung (yang tak berapa pedas)


* This mixed spices are the same ones I use to make fish head curry. You can find them sold in packets at Giant or any grocery store in Malaysia. Outside of malaysia, though, it can be quite difficult to find so you might have to mix your own based on the seeds/spices I mentioned above.
The list of ingredients is long, but when you look at the method, you'll see that it's pretty easy.
I added oyster sauce to substitute for the belacan flavour. It worked :)
Like all Asam Pedas, this tastes better after reheating the next day, because all of the ingredients would've simmered and melded together for a while.
I know a certain family in Qatar that eats their Asam Pedas with bread, pancakes or paratha. *wink*

Happy trying, and I hope I have inspired you :)

20 comments:

  1. Ooooooh..... I am sooo inspired, i will make my second attempt on assam pedas based on yr recipe..

    allergic to belacan.. u mean like gatal2 etc... my only problem with belacan before was I had pimples like teenagers whenever I eat them.. now dah takde thanks to cheap soap and medication readily available here...

    Nampak sedap yr assam pedas... Nak sikit aje...

    p/s I always notice that you seem to make cooking so easy. Easy Peasy....

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  2. I love asam pedas cooked by my mom in law. Tapi, dia tak letak bunga kantan and daun kesum because her son a.k.a my husband hehee.. doesn't like it :).

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  3. Olie,
    allergic to belacan - gatal2 hidung, bersin, dan juga mengeluarkan jerawat.. ehehhe
    Bila dah try this recipe and menjadik, dont forget to tell me :)
    I ni pemalas masak sebenarnya (tapi semangat nak makan tu kuat), so segala benda nak shortcut kalau boleh.. jadilah resipi easy peasy.. ;)

    neeza,
    Asam pedas trengganu memang dok letok benda2 tu. My mom's version lagi simple, tumis cili+bawang merah blend, boh ikang (kerisi is the best), boh asam keping, garam+gula. Abih cerita. Tapi dia dok pekat macam version ni lah.

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  4. Oh I love assam pedas org selatan lah kata kan..kan...But now dah lama tak masak sbb I sorang je yg makan. Mr pun tak boleh makan pedas apa lagi my childrens *sigh

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  5. KC,
    eheheh you're one of those folks yang suka hirup asam pedas eh?
    You know what, kalau masukkan spaghetti or laksa pun mesti sedap, kan? (dayumm .... nyesal lak pegi buang leftover haritu)

    BF,
    ha try lah this recipe.. you can reduce the cili, or do like I do.. I de-seed the dried chillies so that it wont be so spicy. (cut into lke 1/2 cm pieces, boil in water, then let it sit so that the seeds stay at the bottom and the flesh floats, and you just scoop the flesh out before grounding it with the rest of the ingredients). My asam pedas ni merah lebih sebab tomato paste, bukan sebab cili ;) Izani pun makan!

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  6. i memang suka asam pedas hirup and jilat pinggan segala. kalau buat purposely i ada left over. the kids love it too. Insya Allah I buat tak pedas. Err ikut standard I lah that is. tee he he.

    Tapi my recipe lagi cincai dari ni.

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  7. YUMMYYYYY!!!! pandai u modify recipe... hehehe :-)

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  8. argh! lapar lapar...

    you have not seen me eat assam pedas at home. macam makan soup.

    eh i thought orang selatan punya assam pedas yang plain jane no daun spices segala?

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  9. Anonymous12:02 PM

    bestnya napok bunga kantan... pecoh liur tengok gambo,,

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  10. Sedapnyee assamm pedaassss!

    Pandai masak ye? Tentu Cik Abang sayang!

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  11. orang selatan (at least I) punya asam pedas kena ada daun kesum. sesetengah org melaka pakai daun limau. but like nazrah once said asam pedas banyak variety. so this is another variet.

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  12. Yeah this is a variety I have yet to try! My grandma orang melaka said depending on what the main ingredient is, fish, meat, chicken or what type of fish even, the ingredients use are different, Some use kerisik.

    Anyways Selamat hari raya. Maaf zahir batin sekiranya ada terkasar bahasa, tersilap, minta halal makan dan minum. 0-0?

    When you coming to riyadh again?

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  13. i dont put belacan in my asam pedas. ah, you inspired me so much, i'm thinking of asam pedas ayam for iftar tonight.

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  14. Anonymous3:40 AM

    You can also substitute the belacan with fish sauce. I find that fish sauce always gives that extra something into a dish.

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  15. Hi elisa; still in mid east? Love your recipe; Selamat raya;

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  16. Alin,
    isy isy isy
    *wipes drool off the blog*

    lolls,
    oh please do share your recipe!
    Lagi cincai lagi bagus ;)

    najlah,
    did you try it? I think yummeh-ness is in the mouth of the consumer.. hee hee

    mosh,
    Like lolls said, I think ada banyak version, mengikut negeri/daerah/rumah. I think it also depends on the availability of ingredients. Kalau ada barang takde, omit aje... eheheh
    Janji ada merah, masam and pedas... :) (Tpai fuh... the bunga kantan really makes a difference lah)

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  17. joe,
    pernoh mmassok sekali tok buboh bunga kantan.. macang takdok kick lah.
    tapi susoh nok cari bunga kantan sinning. Kena import dari malaysia. Di vienna guaner?

    mak teh,
    I'm hoping that kalau tak pandai masak pun, che abang taufik still sayang.. ahahah :)


    SF,
    oh i didnt know that the recipe is different for meat/fish. Actually kan, I've never put anything other than fish in my asam pedas.. kena cuba lah one of these days.
    I'm waiting for Old Diriyah to open.. coz then ada lah motivation for Taufik to go. hee hee
    Keep me updated!

    lana,
    ha.. cuba share sikit resepi ayam asam pedas :)

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  18. han,
    fish sauce is indespensible in my home! I use it to substitute budu :) I used oyster sauce sebab nak pekatkan sikit kuah actually.

    hisham,
    ya lor... STILL in middle east.
    You like my recipe? You're welcomed to try it out, tapi u have to tell e jadik ke tidak ;)
    I link yr blog, k?

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