The food: Asam Fish Head Curry

Where to find it: Xin Yuan Ji Pte Ltd Restaurant, Singapore

-:-

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Singapore embodies a melting pot of cultures. If I hop onto the subway anywhere in this harbor city, I’m bound to witness burqa-wearing Muslims packed together with smartphone-touting Taiwanese. I love this city.

I can taste this stew of cultures all in Singapore’s famous fish head curry. The curry soup boils and mixes violently under a live flame. When the server lifts the claypot lid, the steam from the curry smacks my face with a spicy steam mushroom cloud. It erupts with an intensity like a whip taming an Bengal tiger. Then the Malaysian coconut milk tames the spice while helping the soup go down smooth. And, of course, there’s the pride of the dish: the fish head. The Chinese of Singapore consider the fish head a specialty, and flaunt its sweet-sour juiciness amongst the blend of Southeast Asian spices.

Singapore is a city where Little India and Chinatown coexist mere miles away from each other, and you can even find German, Japanese and American in between them.

If I want to grab a bowl of Asia with its diverse cultures included, then I order up some fish head curry. In one bowl, I can satisfy my cross-cultural and culinary cravings.

-:-

If you want to work with the cross-cultural ingredients of Fish Head Curry, then try out this recipe:

Base Ingredients:

• 600g Garoupa Fish Head, chopped into pieces
• 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp + 1/2 cup water
• 3-4 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups water
• Bunch of polyganum leaves (laksa leaves)
• 4-6 okras, cut into halves diagonally
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste, optional

Spice Paste:

1-2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, cut into small pieces
1 small turmeric, skin peeled, sliced into pieces
20-25g dried red chili paste
50g peeled shallots
5g belacan (shrimp paste)

Garnishing:

Bunga Kantan (Torch Ginger Flower), sliced into small pieces

Bunch of mint leaves, optional

Method:

1. Prepare the spice paste by using a mortar and pestle. First, pound the lemongrass and turmeric together until they become a paste.
2. Deseed a big handful of dried red chilies. Soak in warm water for about 10 minutes. Pound the dried red chili into a fine paste. You will need about 20-25g depending how spicy you like. Save the unused chili paste in the refrigerator.
3. Pound the shallots and the shrimp paste together.
4. Mix the tamarind pulp and water using your fingers, extract the juice out of the tamarind pulp, discard the tamarind pulp and the seeds and save the tamarind juice.
5. Heat up a pot on medium heat and add the oil. Saute the turmeric and lemongrass before adding the shallots and belacan paste. Continue to stir-fry until aromatic before adding the chili paste. Stir until the oil separates from the spice paste and become red.
6. Add the tamarind juice into the pot, follow by the water. Bring it to boil before adding the polyganum leaves (laksa leaves) and okra. After the okra is half-cooked, add the fish head. Cover the pot and let cook for a few minutes until the fish is cooked. Add salt and sugar (if using) to taste. Garnish with the bunga kanta and mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Notes:

1. Use one lemongrass if it’s a big lemongrass and two if the lemongrass is thinner.
2. Fish head might sound intimidating to many of you, but it’s definitely one of the best parts of a fish—it’s fleshy, tender, and absolutely delicious. Curry Fish Head is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore.

Recipe by Rasa Malaysia.