Ikan Asam Pedas is a hot and sour, almost soupy, Malay fish curry found in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Traditionally, it’s always served with rice.
Cut up the chillies with a pair of scissors and place in a bowl. Pour over hot, almost boiling water, cover and leave to soak for 15 minutes.
Place the tamarind in a bowl and top with about 5 Tbsp of hot water, and leave to soak for 15 minutes.
Chop up all the other ingredients while waiting
Quarter the onion and place in a chopper. Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric.
Cut off the top quarter of the lemongrass and discard. With the back of your knife, pound down hard on the thick end to smash it. Set aside
Quarter the tomatoes and set aside.
Rinse the okra and cut off any unsightly dark stalk ends (not the tips).
Grind the paste ingredients
Rinse and drain the soaked chillies, discarding the seeds. Add to the chopper (that’s already got the onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric).
Chop everything up to a fairly fine paste. Add a little water if you need to, but the onions should provide enough moisture.
Let’s cook the ikan asam pedas
Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-low heat and fry the paste ingredients for 2 minutes.
Add the lemongrass and fry for a minute.
Mash the soaked tamarind up with your fingers and strain through a large mesh sieve into the saucepan. Stir and cook for a minute.
Add the water and bring to a simmer. Add the okra and bring back to a simmer. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes. If your okra is young, they’ll need about 10 minutes. Older okra need less time to cook.
Add the fish, tomatoes, Vietnamese coriander and salt, and bring back to a simmer. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish.
When the fish is done, check the seasoning, and add more salt if you need it. Take off the heat and serve with some rice. Ikan asam pedas can be reheated gently on the stove, so as not to break up the fish.