January 17, 2009

Perut Ikan (Fish Stomach with Herbs & Vegetable Curry)

Presenting

......The mother of all nyonya dish,
.....The most time consuming,
....The most authentic,
...with The most vegy, & herbs which many have not seen,
..The ultimate Nyonya Dish
The PERUT IKAN....huh ?!!!!!

This is most answer I get from my fellow colleagues...huh ?


3 main parts when comes to preparing this dish

The Vegy: pineapple, aubergine, 4 angle bean, long bean, tomates, red chillies, pea aubergine (if you can find)....cut into small pieces

The Herbs: Tumeric leaves, kadok leaves, kaffir lime leaves, cekur leaves, ginger flower, basil & mint leaves....slice finely

The Paste: Red chillies, tumeric, lemongrass, shallot, galangal, belachan, garlic....blend & saute under medium heat for 15-25 min till fragrant



Combine the paste and tamarind juice in the pot, add in the preserve fish stomach and the vegy bring to boil and allow it to slimmer for 15 min

Add in all the herbs and let it boil for another 20 min before the coconut milk & prawn goes into the pot

Sugar & salt to taste (go easy on the salt coz the preserve fish stomach will be even more salty the next day) Best serve with white rice !


I would say the most time consuming dish in the nyonya cooking...3 hours straight no stop...then you get this.

Well,.. but it's definitely worth it,..especially when you are cooking for your best friends.... again some of the ingredients have to get it in Penang only.

Imagine one small bowl for a person cost approximately RM12- RM16 in some of the nyonya restaurants in KL

The whole pot for 20 people only cost RM 60,....but +++ 3 hours cooking !!!??? with a Nyonya Chef (Original Penang Aunty) all the way from Penang & a hongkong maid to wash plate????....it's PRICELESS


Serving 10 pax

Ingredient

Paste (Blend & Saute)
200g Red chillies
30g Turmeric
150g Shallot
30g Lemongrass
20g Galangal
20g Belachan

Vegy (Cut into small pieces)
500g Long Bean
500g Aubergine
300g Tomato
200g 4 Angle Bean
100g Pea Aubergine
100g Red Chillies

Herbs (Sliced Finely)
100g (2) Ginger Flower
50g Mint Leaves
50g Basil Leaves
300g Kaduk Leaves
20g Turmeric Leaves
10g Kaffir Lime Leaves
100g Cekur Leaves

500g (2btls) Preserve Fish Stomach
1kg Prawn (shelled)
80g Tamarind Pulp
100ml Oil
100ml Coconut Milk
4 tbsp Sugar, to taste
1 tbsp, Salt, to taste