Perut Ikan is a nyonya pickled fish stomach curry dish. However, I substituted with Ikan Kembung.

This is one of my favourite Nyonya dishes. In this recipe, I used the herbs mostly from our garden. Recently, the herbs have been growing very well. We have Daun Kaduk, Turmeric, Kaffir Leaves, Pandan, Thai Basil, Mint and Daun Kesom. Unfortunately, our Bunga Kantan plant did not have any blossoms at this time.

I cook this dish regularly as I find it quite healthy. To make life easy, I normally blend a lot of the spices and pack individual portions in bags to store in the freezer. When I need to use it, I will just defrost the portions that I need for my dish.

Recipe - Perut Ikan

INGREDIENTS:

Spices paste (blended in electric blender):

1 tbsp chilli boh

5 - 8 red chilli (depend on how spicy you like)

2 ½ inch fresh turmeric

2 stalks lemongrass

120g / 12 shallots

1 ½ inch galangal (lengkuas)

2 tsp belachan powder (optional)

250ml coconut milk

1 liter water

60g long beans, cut into 2.5 cm lengths

2 medium brinjal, cut into 2.5 cm cubes

¼ pineapple, cut into 2.5 cm cubes

5 ikan kembung (mackerel fish)

250g small prawns, shell removed

Herbs (finely sliced):

40 - 50 daun kaduk (wild pepper leaf)

1 ginger flower (bunga kantan)

10 kaffir lime leaves

5 springs daun kesom (polygonum/vietnamese mint/laksa leaf)

5 cekur leaves (optional)

2 turmeric leaves

Seasoning:

Lime juice from 1 lime

2 tbsp brown sugar or to taste

1 ½ tsp salt or to taste

METHOD:

1. Boil ikan kembung (fish) in 1 liter water for 10 to 15 mins. Strain fish, leave to cool before removing the flesh. Keep aside the flakes of fish. Reserve the fish stock for later use.
2. Heat 1/2 cup of cooking oil in the wok. Sauté the spices paste over a medium heat until fragrant then add prawn and some fish stock. Bring mixture to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer for few minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk.
4. Slowly add in all the vegetables, herbs, fish flakes and then the fish stock. Add all the seasoning ingredients. Let it simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes. If it gets dry you may add in a little water.
5. This dish is best left in the pot overnight and served the next day. It will allow the flavours to fully develop.
6. Simply reheat when ready to eat. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Note:

In the finished dish pictured, I did not use belacan powder, prawn, daun cekur or pineapple.