Malaysian Assam Fish Curry

One particular dish that one must try from a Malaysian Mamak stall is assam fish curry. It’s like the most delicious fish curry ever, on par with our own Indonesian style fish head curry. It has everything, spicy, sour, sweet, savory, and I can eat my rice just with this dish alone, and I might even have a second helping of rice! Believe me, it is that good. If you ever had the chance to visit Malaysia, be sure to order this dish. And for everyone else, give this recipe a try, then get ready to dig in.

What fish can you use to prepare assam fish curry

The fish that we most commonly use to prepare assam fish curry is Spanish mackerel. If you can find Spanish mackerel, you will want to buy them in steaks (4-5 pieces should be enough). Or if you managed to get fresh whole Spanish mackerel, you can get your butcher to clean and cut it into steaks for you. Some good alternative to Spanish mackerel that I have tried:

• salmon steaks
• tuna steaks
• red snapper steaks
• grouper steaks
• rockfish fillets
• tilapia fillets

For most people living in the United States, the easiest fish to use is probably tilapia fillets. And though it is different than the original, preparing assam fish curry with tilapia fillets is pretty tasty too, so do give this recipe a try even if tilapia is all you have.

What you need to prepare Malaysian assam fish curry

Aside from the fish, here are the rest of the ingredients that you need to get to prepare this fish curry dish:

• okra
• curry leaves
• lemongrass
• curry powder
• tomato
• tamarind
• shallot
• garlic
• ginger
• red chilies, such as fresno, serrano, or cayenne

If you cannot find okra, I have also tried making this dish with Thai green eggplant with great success. But note that okra has natural thickening properties, so if you do substitute, you may want to thicken the sauce with some cornstarch.