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Ikan Gerang Asam

Ikan Gerang Asam

Ikan Gerang Asam is one of the first Peranakan dishes, or what is known to the babas and nyonyas as “laok embok” I’d “learnt” to cook when I was young, after getting to know the tricks to frying sunny sideups with runny yolks and crispy edges for telor tempra and braising tauyew bak until the collagen-packed babi sam cham become wobbly soft that is. “Cooking lessons” were never formal or formative, save for the times when I was taught how to use a “pisoh chye toh” , a Chinese cleaver that is, to do a wondrous list of things with it, to potong, to iris, to bukak, to persiang, to kupair a wide variety of ingredients. Otherwise it was always learning through observing how my mum and grandma worked around the kitchen while helping out with the tasks along the way and of course tasting the yummy dishes they’d prepared. And it was the same with “learning” to cook Ikan Gerang Asam”…

Ingredients

600g slices of fresh ikan batang
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
1/2 cup cooking oil
5 young lady’s finger aka okra
2 medium sized eggplant
6 kaffir lime leaves
6-8 buah belimbing, stalks removed and halved
1 tbsp sugar, adjust to taste
1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
water as needed

Rempah Ingredients
20 shallots, peeled
4 garlic, peeled
15 dried chilies, soaked in hot water until soft, drained  
5 fresh red chillies, stalk removed and sliced broadly
5 candlenuts
thumb length piece fresh turmeric root, peeled and sliced finely
thumb length piece fresh galangal root, peeled and sliced finely
2 stalks lemongrass, lower white portion only, sliced finely
1 tbsp toasted belachan (dried shrimp paste) and then crushed

Method

  1. Pound or grind shallots and garlic until everything forms a fine paste. Dish into a bowl and set aside.
  2. Pound or grind the other rempah ingredients, i.e. candlenuts, lemongrass, galangal, tumeric root, red and soaked dried chilies until everything forms a fine paste. Dish into a bowl and set aside.
  3. Prepare asam juice by meshing tamarind pulp in 500 ml water with fingertips. Set aside for later use.
  4. Heat wok, add oil followed by garlic and shallots mix and slow fry in medium low flame until fragrant and translucent.
  5. Add the other rempah ingredients mix and stir fry until the colour darkens slightly and the oil begins to separate from the cooked rempah. (about 15 to 20 min)
  6. Strain asam juice to rempah and discard the seeds. Top up with enough water to immense all the ingredients. Stir slowly and bringing mixture to a boil at the same time.
  7. Add sugar and salt to taste, adjusting proportion to own’s liking and cover and simmer for about 5 to 10 min.
  8. Use the simmering time to prepare the vegetable ingredients. Remove the stalks of the buah belimbing. Cut the larger pieces of belimbing lengthwise into halves. Leave the smaller ones whole.
  9. Remove the stalks of the okra, cut the longer ones diagonally into halves.
  10. Remove the stalks of the eggplant and cut lengthwise into quarters and half each quarter diagonally into thick slices. Soak the eggplant slices in some water added with a pinch of salt if necessary, to prevent them from turning brown.
  11. Bruise the kaffir lime leaves slightly by tearing the sides slightly. This will help to release more aroma and flavour into the sauce.
  12. Remove the cover and add brinjal, okra, buah belimbing, bruised kaffir lime leaves. Stir slightly and cover again to simmer for another 5 to 10 min until vegetable ingredients are just cooked.
  13. Add the slices of batang and make sure they are well submerged into the sauce. Simmer without lid for another 5 min. Turn off the flame and cover. Steep the fish slices in the sauce for another 5-10 min for the flavours to infuse into the fish.
  14. Check that the fish is thoroughly cooked, taste again if needed and adjust once more with sugar or salt as required.
  15. Serve with steaming hot rice and other dishes.

Author

TravelingFoodies

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