Ikan Pesmol
Ikan Pesmol is a fish dish from West Java, Indonesia that has a refreshing tangy and spicy flavour.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 7 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2.2 pounds firm flesh fish.
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste.
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder.
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- 1- inch ginger (minced.)
- 6 cloves of garlic (minced.)
- 1 red onion (chopped.)
- 15 Kemiri/ candlenuts.
- 2 Salam leaves.
- 2 Lemongrass.
- ½ - inch Galangal.
- 1 tablespoon Sugar.
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt + extra for the marinade.
- 2 teaspoons White vinegar or juice from one lemon.
- 1 cup water.
- 5-7 fresh bird’s eye chillies.
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
- 1
Clean, scale, cut, and wash the fish. Marinate it with tamarind paste and 1 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
- 2
Using pestle and mortar, or a food processor, pound the ginger, garlic, chopped onion, candlenuts and galangal into a paste. Set aside.
- 3
Grill the fish until it’s thoroughly cooked. Or, if you want to do it traditionally, you can deep fry the fish. Set aside.
- 4
Heat 4 tablespoons of oil on a large cooking pan or a wok. Put the pounded spices, chilli powder, turmeric, Salam leaf, lemongrass, salt, and sugar in. Let it fry until the spices release aroma, and it looks shiny.
- 5
Add in the vinegar or lemon juice. Cook further for a minute.
- 6
Then add the water in, give it a stir and let it cook with a lid on. Until the water is reduced and you have a nice thick sauce.
- 7
Put the fish in the sauce. Stir carefully until all the fish is coated with the spice. Leave it to cook with a lid on for about 3 minutes.