Kristang fish curry: sour-spiced ikan technique

Ingredients

• For the marinade
• 700 g firm fish steaks (batang, kembung, or ikan merah), cut into thick steaks, skin and bone on
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• For the rempah
• 4 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 20 g fresh galangal, peeled and sliced
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 dried red chillies, soaked and drained — less than for meat curry
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• For the curry
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 200 ml tamarind liquid, made from tamarind paste dissolved in warm water
• 200 g small tomatoes, left whole; or large tomatoes quartered
• 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
• Optional finish
• 4 fresh tamarind leaves (daun asam), added briefly before removing from heat

Method

1. 1
   Rub the fish steaks with the turmeric and salt, then set aside for 15 minutes, so the salt draws inward and firms the flesh from the centre out rather than merely drying the surface — the turmeric colour should be uniformly distributed before you move on. The steaks will feel slightly tighter to the touch when they are ready.
2. 2
   Pound or blend the shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, and dried chillies to a smooth rempah paste, then fry in the oil over a medium flame, stirring constantly, so the raw sharpness cooks out completely and the paste develops its full, rounded fragrance — approximately 6–8 minutes. The paste is ready when it deepens in colour, pulls away from the pan cleanly, and smells cooked rather than sharp.
3. 3
   Pour the coconut milk and tamarind liquid into the fried rempah and stir to combine, bringing everything to a steady simmer so the fat from the coconut milk and the spice base marry into a cohesive sauce rather than sitting apart. The sauce should read a clear golden-yellow; if it appears dark red, the chilli proportion is too high.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies: lower the fish steaks gently into the simmering sauce — do not add them to dry fried rempah, and do not raise the heat — so the flesh cooks evenly through the sauce without seizing or falling apart, which happens quickly over fierce heat. The fish needs 8–12 minutes depending on steak thickness; monitor constantly, and remove from heat the moment a probe or skewer meets no resistance at the bone, because residual heat will continue cooking the flesh.
5. 5
   At 5 minutes before the estimated end of cooking, lower the tomatoes into the sauce so they have time to soften and yield at the skin while still holding their shape — they should not dissolve, because their job is to give a fresh tart lift and a gentle bite against the fish. If they collapse entirely, that textural contrast is lost.
6. 6
   Add the tamarind leaves in the final minute and then remove the pan from the heat, so their brightness lands at the end of cooking where it stays vivid rather than being simmered away. Taste: the sourness from tamarind and tomato should be the first note on the palate, leading into the warmth of turmeric and galangal, with the fish tasting distinctly sweet and fresh through the sauce — not dissolved into it.