Pindang Bandeng Kecap: Milkfish Soup with Herbs & Sweet Soy Sauce
This sweet, sour and spicy milkfish soup is light, delicious and refreshing. It contains a mix of herbs such as lemongrass, tamarind, galangal and more cooked with sweet soy sauce and chillies.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 3 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 500 gr milk fish
- 5 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
- 2 big red chillies, sliced
- 3 cm galangal, sliced or bruised
- 1 lemongrass, bruised, knotted
- 2 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam)
- 5 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tamarind extract
- Salt to taste
- 10 bird’s eye chillies
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 500 ml water
Instructions
- 1
Clean and wash the fish thoroughly, cut into two to three pieces depending on the size.
- 2
Rub the fish with lemon juice or vinegar to remove the fishy smell. Set aside.
- 3
Heat the cooking oil in a wok over high heat, and then add shallots, garlic and sliced big red chillies. Fry for about 2 minutes.
- 4
Add the galangal, lemongrass and Indonesian bay leaves. Fry for another 2 minutes.
- 5
Add the water.
- 6
Add the sweet soy sauce, tamarind extract and salt. Cook the soup base for around 10 minutes under medium heat.
- 7
Correct the taste. The sweet, sour and salty should be balanced. Feel free to add more tamarind extract according to your preference.
- 8
Rinse the fish under fresh cold water, and add to the soup.
- 9
Add the bird’s eye chillies.
- 10
Cook for another 10 minute, then turn off the heat.