Ann's Lil World: Ann Asam Fish

After a thorough rest, I spent the day in the comfort of home. Decided to reactivate my kitchen N stove.  Did some bargaining N shopping at the market. Noticed lots of ikan kembung (our local mackerel), must be cheap coz in abundance. They looked fresh too. The first thing ran into my mind, how about laksa ? Nah...Ah Boy doesn't fancy laksa. How about Asam Pedas..? Good idea. Bought half kilo of it @ approx. 10 pcs. Next, I need the secret ingredient @ cili giling of such. A special makeshift stall offers good cili giling. You name it, she has them all...from curry kapitan to nyonya paste. Bought the necessary ingredients like lemon grass stalks, bunga kantan (torch ginger) and daun kesum (knotweed or Vietnamese mint) and daun pudina (menthol mint). Love these leaves, the aroma they emit into the gravy. The pineapple cubes add sweetness to the gravy. Add a lil bit of lime juice, salt to taste.

Budget ingredients ~ all the raw materials cost me about RM 9.20 (can cook two meals)
Fish=RM5, Chilly and leaves stalks 3.70. Lime RM 0.50, Morris Pineapple (left overs bought from from Tesco Xtra)

Hmmmm....at times, it's more economical to cook at home, the hygienic guaranteed, the nutrition intact and taste of course delicious and 100% MSG free.

Headed home to dissect the fish, cleanse with salt. Off into the fridge for evening. Simple procedure. In a lil bit of oil, saute the chilly giling till the aroma emerge. Add in the lemon grass and daun kesum. Add water. Leave it at low heat.  Add in the fish, bring it to boil. Lastly, add some lime juice (substitute it with asam juice coz my gastritis doesn't allows with asam jawa). Garnish with menthol mint and sliced bunga kantan. Served immediately. The gravy is best eaten pipping hot. So is the fish, when cold it has fishy odour.

Everyone gave a thumb up to my Asam Pedas Mackerel.
Although the pictures don't look appetising but in real they do.  However, there's room for improvement in the near future.

The product

The Individual serving.

Below are the bahan-bahan masakan. I used only a small amount coz I only cooking for 3 person. The quantity are just about half of the things I bought. There's a need to improve on the technique of cooking. The first attempt usually don't taste as good as the second N so forth.