Asam Pedas Ikan Merah

In my place, fresh seafoods are scarce and expensive. There are frozen seafood sold at Asia Shop at reasonable price but I try to reduce eating the frozen seafood because I read somewhere the amount of chemical used for frozen items could be hazardous to one's health. Unless I'm so craving to eat seafood, would I buy these frozen stuff.

Few days ago I went to Morocco's groceries shop and saw some fresh seafood to be sold. I saw these red fish and thought how nice to cook asam pedas using this fish. I'm very sure whether this fish is exactly the red fish I know in Malaysia but I just thought 'why not give it a try?'

The cost for these two red fishes is EU5.00 which was ok! I wanted to buy more but since I wasn't sure how did it taste, I just made do with two first.

So, here is my asam pedas ikan merah with tomatoes and lady fingers. Yummy!!!! The fish tasted so delicious and I'm hoping I can find this fish again at the Morocco's groceries shop.

My recipe for asam pedas:

Ingredients:

1 big onion*
3 cloves garlic*
1 inch ginger*
Some belacan (shrimp paste)*
2-3 tablespoons blended dried chilies ( I used sambal oelek)
2 red fish - clean and cut into two (depends on the size of the fish, if one small fish is used, then you don’t have to cut it)
1 small bowl tamarind juice
1 stack daun kesum (Vietnamese coriander)
5-6 lady fingers ( add more if you like)
2 tomatoes (cut into four)
Salt
Cooking oil
* To be blended with some water

Methods:

1. Heat up cooking oil. Add the blended onion, garlic and ginger.
2. Add chilies/sambal oelek. Cook until the chilies turn a little dark.
3. Add tamarind juice and some water.
4. Add daun kesum.
5. When the gravy has boiled, add lady fingers and fish. Leave it and stir occasionally.
6. Add salt to your taste
7. Add tomatoes and cook a little while

Ready to serve with white rice.