Fish Head Curry

TIME1 hour MAKES3-4 servings PORTION
0.5x 1x 2x 3x

I have fond memories of eating fish curry from the Banana Leaf Apolo in Singapore, where we would all go out as a family for Sunday lunch and feast on fish head curry served on a banana leaf. Us kids would be both freaked out by the fish heads, but at the same time fight over the delicacies of the fish eyes. Adapted from Nyonya Cooking.

The curry sauce also goes great with roti prata, especially for breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 flaky white fish
  • 3 tsp tamarind paste
  • 1.5 tbsp rice (or 1/2 tbsp rice flour)
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 12 curry leaves
  • 1 brown onion
  • 1 eggplant (Indian, cut into thin wedges)
  • 6 okra (ladies’ fingers)
  • 2 tomatoes (cut into cubes or eighths)
  • 1 tbsp sugar (ideally palm sugar, gula melaka)
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)

Curry paste (rempah)

  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 3 shallots
  • 10 chilli peppers (dried or fresh)
  • 50 g curry powder
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 1 inch galangal
  • 2 lemongrass stalks

Curry powder

You can make it using the following spices, or source a good Malaysian fish curry powder such as Baba’s. Note if using a packaged fish curry powder, check if it already includes the toasted rice powder, and leave it out if so.

  • 1/2 tsp or 10 cloves
  • 1/2 tsp or 20 black peppercorns
  • 4 whole cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 whole dried chilies or 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 4 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds

STEPS

  1. In advance make the curry powder by toasting the spices for 3-5 minutes, and then grinding them in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Repeat until it is sufficiently fine. Similarly, prepare the rice flour by toasting the rice in a dry frying pan over medium heat, and grinding it to a fine powder.

  2. Add 1.5 teaspoons of tamarind paste into a bowl filled with 100 ml water. Mix well. Pour the tamarind solution onto the fish and let it rest for 10 minutes.

  3. Blend garlic, shallot, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, curry powder, and either soaked and deseeded dried chillies or fresh chillies. Set aside.

  4. Heat the oil at medium heat. Sautés sliced onion until fragrant before adding curry leaves. Add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Continue sautéing until mustard seeds begin to pop. Add the blended ingredients and cook for several minutes until they darken.

  5. Add the curry paste to the wok and fry. When oil begins to separate from the ingredients, add pounded toasted rice and 700ml water to the wok (can optionally remove some of the water and add coconut milk at this stage). Increase heat to the maximum.

  6. Once curry boils vigorously, add fish, eggplant, ladies’ fingers and tomatoes. Reduce heat to the minimum and let it simmer until fish is cooked. It should take about 8 to 10 minutes if fish is around 1 kg.

  7. Remove fish from curry once it is cooked. Leave aside. Add the remaining 1.5 tsp of the tamarind paste, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp salt (or to taste). Continue simmering for the next 40 minutes with the lid on or until curry thickens.

  8. Add fish head and the rest of the meat into curry. Increase the heat to allow it to boil. Once it boils, switch off the stove. Serve fish head curry with steamed white rice.