Assam Pedas, or literally “sour spicy,” is a classic Malaysian dish. Everyone has their own interpretation for this favorite dish and there are endless adaptations; suffice it to say, it’s sour, fiery hot, and tastes extraordinarily satisfying.
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When I made my sambal for nasi lemak last weekend, I made a point to prepare some extra spice paste for this Assam Pedas dish. While traditional Assam Pedas calls for ikan tenggiri (Spanish mackerel) or ikan pari (stingray), I used pomfret instead. (In the United States, even in California, it’s almost impossible to find fish commonly found in Malaysia.) I love pomfret and it’s a good substitute for Assam Pedas.
Much like nasi lemak, if you haven’t tried Assam Pedas, it’s very hard to describe just how wonderful this is. I hope my pictures and recipe do it justice.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 213 calories per serving.
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Asam Pedas Fish
Assam Pedas, or literally “sour spicy,” is a classic Malaysian dish. Everyone has their own interpretation for this favorite dish and there are endless adaptations; suffice it to say, it’s sour, fiery hot, and tastes extraordinarily satisfying.
Ingredients
- 1 pomfret, 1/2 pound to 1 pound (200 g-400 g)
- 10 small okras
- 1 tomato, cut into wedges
- 1 teaspoon of fish curry powder
- 2 sprigs of daun kesum, Vietnamese mint/Vietnamese coriander
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar/sugar
- Salt to taste
Spice Paste:
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, white part only
- 4 shallots
- 8-10 dried chillies, depends how spicy you like
- 1/2 tablespoon belacan, prawn paste
Tamarind Juice:
- 1 1/4 cup water
- Tamarind pulp, size of a small ping pong ball
Instructions
- Pound the spice paste with mortar and pestle or grind them in a food processor. Set aside.
- Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind pulp constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
- Heat oil and fry the spice paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the tamarind juice, fish curry powder and bring to boil.
- Add the tomato wedges, okras and daun kesom and bring to boil.
- Add the fish, salt, and palm sugar/sugar.
- Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
4 peopleAmount Per Serving Calories 213Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 21mgSodium 84mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 2gSugar 5gProtein 3g
Melissa Mathews
Hi I managed to make this but when I asked my mum to taste she said it was missing bunga kantan. I used tamarind paste about 2 thumbs. It came out beautifully.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you need bunga kantan if you could get. I can’t get it where I am.
Cyn
Hi
Please advise on which type of belacan, prawn paste are you using?
Thank you so much.
Rasa Malaysia
Malaysian belacan. Any brand is fine.
Latha
Hi
can I skip the belacan paste?
Rasa Malaysia
No.
Lynn
Hi. That looks delicious. Our regular customers who has been buying fish from us http://www.gogopasar.com definitely would love to have this recipe too. Awesome!
Siew Wei Cher
What can I use as substitute to tamarind? I can’t get tamarind from where I am.
Rasa Malaysia
Lemon juice.
Scintilla
Hai may I ask. Beside then the pomfret fish and sting Ray or ikan pari. What other fish that I put in to taste good in the assam pedas
Rasa Malaysia
I only like those two. Other fish are hardly used for Assam Pedas.
Jo
I would use ikan patin aka basa fish
Cyn
Hi
Please advise on which type of belacan, prawn paste are you using?
Thank you so much.
Hz
Nice recipe Bee. Made it this evening great flavour. Btw I cooked a snapper head. Thanks!
Ivanic
Ikan merah, or red snapper the best in da world
BC lee
Could I use Tamarind paste instead of meaning the water? If so, to approximately what ratio?
Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you can. I don’t know as I didn’t use the paste.