Clem's Short Cut Fish Curry


 

A Malaysian standard and favourite is a curry made with fish head(s). The fish is usually a large sea fish such as grouper or snapper (more meaty parts of the of the fish can be included) with tomato, okra and brinjal cooked with a combination of wet and dry spices.

There are two general categories of this curry viz. Indian or Nyonya. The Indian version usually includes adding extra mustard and fennel seeds whereas the nyonya version does not. This dish is invariably tart via the inclusion of tamarind juice.

This time instead of preparing this dish from scratch, I used a short cut method where I used a bought nonya fish paste curry.
 


The fish curry paste which I used.
It is good for 1 kg of fish.
 

Fish

0.75 kg Deep Sea Cod fillet


Vegetables

  • 4 - 6 okra (whole)
     
  • 1 large brinjal (bite-sized)
     
  • 3 - 4 lengths long bean (4 - 5 cm lengths)
     
  • 2 tomatoes (quartered)
     

Seasonings

  • Sugar
     
  • Coconut milk
     
  • Salt or fish sauce
     
  • Curry leaves
     
  • Daum kesum also known as Vietnamese Coriander (Persicaria odorata)
     
  • Torch Ginger flower (if available)
     
  • Tamarind juice

 

Method

  • Fry a whole pack of Mas Foods Curry Fish paste gently, add curry leaves, and finally add some 400 mL of water to the fry.
     
  • At the end of the frying, add as much coconut milk as you like to see in your curry sauce
     
  • Add the brinjal, okra, tomatoes, and long beans, probably in that order so that the veggies all end up cooked at the same time.
     
  • Add some Daum Kesum which is also known as Vietnamese Coriander (Persicaria odorata)
     
  • Add additional tamarind juice if you like your fish curry more tart, and add more turmeric if you like it more yellow.
    If you like it more spicy, add chill powder.
     
  • Add the fish which has been cut into bite sized pieces.
    Cook momentarily (the fish only takes a few minutes).
     
  • Taste the curry.
    Add salt or fish sauce according to your taste preference.
    You may also wish to add additional coconut milk at this stage (this addition will taste more coconut milky as it has not been boiled like the earlier addition).
     
  • When ready dish out and add sliced Torch Ginger flower (if available) and/or Daun Kesum on top of the serving.
     

ENJOY!
 


Clem's Deep Sea Cod fillet Fish Curry
 
 

 

All my cooking (some without recipes) can be found here (click on each photo to go to that dish's page):

 

http://clemkuek.com/photoalbum/photo696.html

 

Video presentations can be found here:

Earlier days: https://youtu.be/BWyHY1h9Y5s

More recently: https://youtu.be/cph2XmwuQLU

 

 

www.clemkuek.com

 

19 June 2025
 

 



Created by Clem Kuek