My cravings had taken me back to Cambodia this time. Fish Amok is one of the most popular Khmer dish, where the local white fish is delicately steamed in a coconut based savoury curry until just cooked in a banana leaf container. For me, the dish brings back memory of visit to the world famous Angkor Wat, and tasting it for the first time in the ever so famous Palm Sugar restaurant in Siem Reap.
(c) Rights to all photos reserved. Second photo was taken inside Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 1.5hrs
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Curry Paste
- 100g lemongrass stalk finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp galangal peeled and chopped finely
- 1 small kaffir lime leaf
- 1 tsp fresh turmeric peeled and chopped finely
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 dried large red chillies rehydrated and deseeded
Fish Amok
- 200g white fish fillets sliced*
- curry paste from above
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp shrimp paste
- 1 tsp palm sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- salt
Banana Leave Bowls
- 4 large banana leaves
Garnish
- coconut cream
- kaffir lime leaves thinly sliced
- large red chilli thinly sliced
Papaya Salad
- 1/4 green papaya thinly sliced
- 4 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 tbsp palm sugar ground into a powder
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp dried shrimps
- 1 tbsp toasted peanuts chopped
Serve With
- 2 bowls of cooked jasmine rice
* I used perch, traditionally they use snakehead or catfish.
Method
1. Make the banana leave bowls buy cutting out a large circle (approx. 15cm in diameter), place a 1 cup measuring cup in the middle and staple the edges together into a bowl with staples or toothpicks. Set aside. Alternatively, use bowls for steaming.
2. Make the curry paste by blending the ingredients in a food processor into a fine paste. Add the fish sauce, coconut milk, shrimp paste, palm sugar, egg and salt to season to taste.
3. Add the fish fillets to the curry paste, spoon the mixture into the banana leave bowls and steam in a steamer for 20-30 minutes until cooked.
4. Make the papaya salad by combining the palm sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and chilli in a bowl, combine well until the sugar is fully melted. Add it to the green papaya and tomatoes, top with dried shrimp and peanuts.
5. Once the fish amok is cooked, drizzle with coconut cream and garnish with kaffir lime leaves and red chillies. Enjoy with papaya salad and rice.
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