Lempah kuningBangka fish soup
From Bangka, and built on sour rather than rich. Turmeric broth, no coconut milk at all, and pineapple doing the work that tamarind does elsewhere.
Method
- Salt the fish steaks lightly and leave them while you work on the paste. Firm fish holds together in a soup; soft white fish falls apart.
- Blend the spice paste ingredients with a splash of water until smooth.
- Fry the paste in the oil in a wide pot for 5 minutes, until the raw smell goes and the colour deepens.
- Add the water, lemongrass and lime leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes so the broth takes on the spices.
- Stir in the tamarind, palm sugar and salt. Taste now: it should read sour first, then hot, then sweet at the back.
- Add the pineapple and simmer 5 minutes, until the wedges soften at the edges but keep their shape.
- Slide in the fish. Simmer 8 minutes without stirring, or the steaks will break up.
- Take the pot off the heat and scatter the basil over the top. It wilts in the residual heat.
- Serve with plain rice, and nothing else on the plate that competes with the sourness.
Notes
- Pineapple is not a garnish here. It carries the acid and a little sweetness, so use ripe fruit and keep the pieces large enough to eat.
- Skip the tamarind if your pineapple is very sharp, then adjust at the end rather than the start.
- This is a soup to make and eat, not to keep. The fish turns woolly on reheating.