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Asam pedas: photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Gunawan Kartapranata — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Everyday meals

Asam pedas

Malay-Indonesian sour and very spicy stew, made with tamarind, chilies and lemongrass. The fish or beef simmers in a bright red sauce, traditionally served with plain white rice.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Pâte d'épices

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Instructions

  1. Finely blend the chilies, onion, garlic and ginger with a little water to get a smooth paste.
  2. Lightly crush the lemongrass and cut it into large pieces.
  3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the spice paste for 4 to 5 minutes, until it smells good and turns slightly brown.
  4. Add the chopped tomato, the lemongrass, the bay leaf and the water, then let it simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Dissolve the tamarind paste in a little hot water, strain it and pour it into the sauce with the salt and sugar.
  6. Add the eggplant if you're using it and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
  7. Gently lay the fish pieces in the sauce without stirring them, and cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily.
  8. Adjust the sourness and salt, then serve piping hot with the white rice.

Variations and tips

With beef. Replace the fish with 500 g of stewing beef cut into cubes and extend the gentle simmering to 1 h 30 before adding the eggplant.

With what you can find here. Replace the tamarind paste with 1 tablespoon of lime juice mixed with 1 teaspoon of tomato concentrate.

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Original Ecomely recipe.