Turmeric Fish In Creamy Sauce

This blog should be named the lazyeasyallinone...

Another easy, lazy, all-in-one recipe that would only take less than 30 minutes from start to dinner table. This dish is adapted from an old and dear friend from Kedah. She was a magnificent cook who could dish out sumptuous feast from seemingly ordinary everyday ingredients. Her method was a little more elaborate than the one I did as I tend to shortcut on muscles but not on the ingredients. I am not very fond of using the mortar and pestle in which she would pound and grind anything and everything.

300g fish fillet (any white firm flesh will do)

2-3 tomatoes, quartered

1 cup long beans, 2-inch in length

3 stalks lemongrass, crushed with the back of chopper

a small thumb-sized ginger, sliced

4 cloves garlics, sliced thinly

1 cup of thick santan from 1/2 coconut

3 cups water

3 slices assam keping (tamarind slices)

2 big red chillies, halved and seeded

1 t kunyit powder (turmeric)

2 kaffir leaves

fish sauce

Put 1 T oil into a heated wok, add garlic, ginger and kunyit and stir fry until fragrant. Put in lemongrass, assam keping and water. Bring to boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in long beans, red chillies and tomatoes. Cook until veg are half done, then add the thick santan. When the santan is bubbling and creamy add the fish and kaffir leaves. Cook until the fish just done about 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of fillet. Please do not overcook the fish. Season with fish sauce.

Serve hot with lots of rice to go with the heavenly tangy, creamy gravy.

Jo