Hot and Sour Seafood Soup Recipe

Hot and Sour Seafood Soup Recipe

(Ikan Asam Pedas Recipe)

1 whole fish, about 1 kg, cleaned and cut into roughly equal slices,

  use red mullet, snapper or mackerel

salt to taste

Freshly crushed black pepper to taste

1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock

4 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and cut into wedges

2 salam leaves, finely sliced

Spice mixture:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

60 g red chilies, halved, seeded and sliced

80 g shallots, peeled and sliced

40 g garlic, peeled and sliced

2 stalks lemon grass, bruised and finely sliced (use only the bottom tender inner part)

30 g galangal, peeled and cut into fine strips

30 g turmeric, peeled and finely sliced

30 g ginger, peeled and finely sliced

12 sprigs lemon basil, roughly sliced

10 blimbing (belimbing), halved and sliced

Method:

Season fish with salt and pepper to taste, then refrigerate or set aside in a cool place until needed.  Prepare spice mixture.  Heat oil in a heavy saucepan.  Add all ingredients and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes or until fragrant.  Season spice mixture to taste with salt and pepper, then add stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 minute.  Lower fish into stock mixture, return to a simmer and poach fish at just below 80°C for 5 minutes.  Carefully remove fish from saucepan and arrange in one large serving bowl or divide among individual serving ones.  Finally, add tomatoes to soup and return to a simmer.  Adjust seasoning to taste with more salt and pepper, if necessary.  Ladle soup over fish, sprinkle salam leaves over to garnish and serve.