Friday, October 29, 2010

Fish on Friday!

Mama does inventory of the fridge's contents on Fridays, before her usual weekend grocery shopping. Brad and I would usually plant ourselves in the kitchen during this exercise. Never know what she might cook for us on that day.
"hmm...see Angelina. We have a couple of Spanish Mackerel cutlets in the freezer. Fancy some yummy mackerel today?" You have to ask, Mama?
Then she rummaged in other parts of the fridge to see if she has enough ingredients for whatever recipe she has in mind.
Then another rummaging in the pantry.
I can't wait to know what she has in mind.

Voila! It's the Holy Mackerel! or what is actually Spanish Mackerel in Hot Chili Coconut Sauce....

Here's the list of ingredients:
1 large piece Spanish Mackerel cutlet (we love our fish with the bones too)
5 bird chilies (ours is from our garden)
Small but fiery - bird chilies from our own garden...
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp aniseed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 small piece fresh turmeric
1 small piece galangal
1 lemongrass

OK, we cheated. Should use fresh galangal and lemongrass but since they're not in stock, we have to make do with these.
1 cup stolon of taro (it's the stem of the taro plant) - you can substitute with potato or even spinach


OK, we cheated again. It's too far to drive to get the fresh ones so we use the frozen ones. Got them from the Bangladeshi butcher shop. 
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
3 pcs tamarind skin (or 1 tbsp thick tamarind paste)
1 pc kaffir lime leaf (this is from our garden too)
Mama's pride and joy - the kaffir lime tree. It's fruiting now.
Salt to taste

And now, let's start cooking.

First, take out the stone mortar and crush the dry spices.
Doesn't matter if you crush them coarse or fine. We just want the aroma.
Then add in the chilies, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, onion and garlic.
That's how everything should look. You may use food processor but it's easier to wash the stone mortar.
Put fish cutlet in claypot, add in mortar-crushed mixture, tamarind skin, lime leaf and water.
No oil required. Healthy cooking, OK?
Put on heat and simmer until fish is tender.
Add in stolon of taro and coconut milk.
Add salt to taste, let simmer for a few minutes and take away from heat.
Serve with white rice.
That's how I like it. More fish than rice. Yummm.....
Best eaten on a nice and cool day. Or in an air-conditioned room with plenty of serviette to wipe away the sweat. It's hot, I tell ya. purrr....meow!

After lunch siesta....zzzzzzz

31 comments:

Wan Sharif said...

Ayoh Wang can see Angelina is very busy learning how to cook properly from mama and putting down the recipe.. hmm it would not be long now that Ayahwan will be asking Angelina about the dream "makan place" that Angelina want to put up somewhere..

Unknown said...

Angelina,

You are one lucky feline darling to be pampered by your Mama!!!

Looks yummilicious and the recipe looks easy too!

Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!!

Salam

lupie said...

OMG!!!
I salute your Mama!!!
She's still using stone mortar!!
In Australia!!!

Love, Lucky & Co.

P:S: We broke our Mama's blender!!!

lupie said...

UN Ambassador???
Aspiring to be like Moon?
Lucky wants to be like Adam Lambert!

Love, Lucky

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
Maybe I should email you the business proposal. How about that? Just keep on praying for Cafe Angelina, OK? purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Paula,
I'm the only girl who's obedient enough to learn cooking. Mama's given up on teaching Nicole and Nikki. I have MILs to please....you know....purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Yes Lucky's meowmy, we have stone mortar too here. Mama bought it at an Indonesian grocery shop. Quite expensive, I must say.
Oh, the UN thingy? I just want to follow my namesake's steps. Isn't she the ambassador for UNHCR? It's a noble thing to do. purrr....meow!

mokja said...

Dell:Yummm,looks inviting.The fish I mean.
My mamason has only the mortar without the pestle.So she never pounds but grinds.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Hey Dell,
You want some? It's finger lickin' good. purr....meow!

Cheqna said...

i love mackerel...simply bakar and cicah kicap with chilies, onions and limau kasturi...

..even if you were meowing or purring loudly beside me, you wont be noticed...take note wil ya!..hahaha..

:-)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Cheqna,
Tak baik kedekut tau! Buatlah pahala banyok2 seket. purrr....meow!

Monyet King said...

I like the after-lunch siesta

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Your Royal Highness,
Yeah...a case of too much fish! purrr....meow!

i amsterdam said...

Yumm yumm, love your lunch Angelina. My tummy is rumbling now..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Mother of Ilham,
Come join the siesta....zzzz....purrr...meow!

Anonymous said...

Hey! Apa ini? Selepas makan terus tidur kah? All that yummy stuff is gonna go straight to the butt, I tell ya. *evil laugh*

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Noooo you didn't eat that with the hot peppers did you??? I know your Mama did and you didn't!!
I love that your Mama is such a creative cook! Her photos and descriptions were fabulous!!
I have to ask though, I have never heard of Spanish Mackerel...do we have that here in the States?? What does Mackerel taste like?
I also don't know what that I think it was "galanga" or something like that, is?

meowwmania said...

wahh nmpk sggh menyelerakan!

pandai guna lesung batu ekk gud gud..heheee~

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Andrea dear,
With chili in the concoction, it will not go to the hips but straight to the output port! Natural detox!!! purrr....meow!

Mummy Iman said...

Wow! Amazing! Yummy looking... Am salivating just looking at the last picture!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Caren,
I'm not sure if you have Spanish Mackerel in the States but over here we have other varieties too such as Blue Mackerel. How does it taste like? A bit like sardine but Spanish Mackerel is a big fish, like tuna or marlin. Mama used to live in Houston for a while (when she was much much younger) but said she didn't pay much attention to the fish as she preferred shrimp then.
Galangal is a root spice (like ginger or turmeric) and used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. No Thai tomyum soup is complete without galangal. Oh dear...do I sound like Martha Stewart? purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Meoww,
Kita tradisional lah! And, kunyit hidup instead of serbuk. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Mummy Iman,
I know...and I had second helping too...burp...excuse me. purrr...meow!

Sandy said...

Yummehhh !! Don't you think this is a little too spicy for cats ? Hehe..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Tante Sandy,
My Mama says chili brings out the happy hormone in us...purrr...meow!

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Esteban used to eat fresh tuna, which will be boiled before he ate it. But his Mama was just too lazy to do anything other than plonk the tuna in the water and let it boil. Your Mama is pretty creative with your food, huh? She's so rajin and you are so lucky.

TK said...

Wah sedapnya...Oh I love fish so much.. I always have more fish than rice:) Thank god now I'm living in Tganu it's easy to get fresh fish.
How does the stem of taro plant tastes like??

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Gina,
Tsk tsk tsk...oh my poor darling Esteban. One day I'll make gulai nasi dagang for him...the yummiest tuna dish ever....yummm....purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

TK Sensei,
Lucky you! Have you to Pantai Merang when the fish just landed? My Mama said the really really fresh fish taste divine. purrr...meow!

psst...taro is "keladi"

~CovertOperations78~ said...

Did you remember to share the nice fish with your guests, Angelina and Brad?

Cat-from-Sydney said...

CO78,
Who? Oh...those two boys? har har har...they're true blue RSPCA breeds, no chili, thank you, they said. purrr...meow!