Assam Pedas, or literally “sour spicy,” is a classic Malaysian dish. Ask any home cooks in Malaysia–Malay, Chinese, or Indian–and you are bound to get various recipes for Assam Pedas. 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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Assam Pedas Pomfret Recipe
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
- 10 small okras
- 1 tomato, cut into wedges
- 1 teaspoon of fish curry powder
- 2 sprigs of daun kesum, Vietnamese mint/Vietnames 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
Directions
- 1
Pound the spice paste with mortar and pestle or grind them in a food processor. Set aside.
- 2
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.
- 3
Heat oil and fry the spice paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- 4
Add the tamarind juice, fish curry powder and bring to boil.
- 5
Add the tomato wedges, okras and daun kesom and bring to boil.
- 6
Add the fish, salt, and palm sugar/sugar.
- 7
Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
- 8
Serve hot.
Chateny
I tried tje Assam pedas fish yesterday without the vietnamese basil and it still taste very good. I added ikam bills cube to it, delicious! Thanks for sharing and i just love it amd will make again!
Elaine
Hi, the instructions don’t stipulate when to add the daun kesum. Is it part of the cooking process or merely used as a garnish?
Reina
Hello !! :)
I am definitely going to try to make this !
May I know.. if the dried chillies need to be soaked and seeds removed ?
Thank You !
Rasa Malaysia
Yes.
Reina
Yes .. ! Thank you .. got it..! i have tired it..! and everyone LOVES it !!!
I am sooooo happy to have made this.. and THANK YOU soo much for sharing this
recipe !
Denny Tan
How my family love eating it
1. Try with Basmati Rice
2. Any left over, debone fish & mashed it the gravy.
Reboil and dip Yu Cha Kueh into the gravy
Lhavanya
I have heard there are also asam pedas recipes which use coconut milk. How does that work?
carmen
i am in columbus,ohio and have yet to see pomfret being sold in supermarkets.
failing which,what other “mat salleh”fish can i use? :)
Rasa Malaysia
Hmm, none, haha, pomfret.
Berry
U can use like red snapper..
nic
Hello! Thanks for sharing the recipe. May I ask if frozen fish can be used? And if so, how to rid the fishy smell? Was told to soak in vinegar water.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you can use frozen fish and yes vinegar will help.
panlasangpinoyrecipes
wow nice blog…and all recipes
Fadzil
Good looks tasty will share this in my blog :)
http://fishyummies.blogspot.com/
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ElizabethCee
Hi Bee, I am not supposed to eat shellfish, or mabe I did as this was our favourite dish when we visited KL. Could you please suggest a substitute for the shrimp paste? Maybe some fish sauce?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes fish sauce is fine.