Notes, Tipps & Tricks
The Moluccan Islands (Kepulauan Maluku in Indonesian language), which are rich in sea fish and spices, are indeed famous for their unique fish-base dishes. The fampus variant among them is Ikan Kuah Kuning which literally means "Yellow Fish Soup".
As the name suggests, this dish has a yellow tends to orange colour which comes from ground turmeric. It is a simple but indeed delicious soup. Give a try and let you know the outcome ;-)
Ingredients
Ingredients for 3 persons:
- 600 gr/1.3 lb/20 oz barracuda steak or fillet / tuna / spanish mackerel / sea bream, washed
- 2 stems of lemon grass, bruished
- 2 cm fresh galangale, sliced
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 limes
- basil
- 1 lt water
- salt to taste
- vegetable oil
Spice for the paste:
- 5 shallots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 - 4 large red chillies, de-seeded chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger, chopped
- 3 cm fresh turmeric or 1 tsp turmeric powder
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- 1
Cut the fish, put them in a bowl and rub with salt and lime juice/tamarind juice.
- 2
Keep aside for 15 minutes. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper.
- 3
Put all ingredients for the seasoning paste in a blender or food processor & blend until smooth.
- 4
Heat 2 tbsp oil in the middle-size frying pan. Stir-fry the paste all the time until fragrant/ you smell a good aroma. Add galingale and lemon grass. Keep stir-frying.
- 5
(The paste is ready when it's colour has changed from blur yellow into transparent yellow and the mixture becomes little bit scrambled.
- 6
Pour in 1 lt hot water and bring all to boil. Lower the heat into medium and add the fish. Simmer until the fish well cooked.
- 7
(If preffered, just pre-cooked the fish in separate boiled water as I write on the above notes).
- 8
Adjust the seasoning and add salt & sugar to taste. Add basil leaves. Add 2 tbsp lime juice, mix well & remove from heat.