Fish Amok
Fish Amok
Amok is a Cambodian curry which is steamed instead of boiled and is solid, but moist.
Ingredients:
400 g meaty fish
2-4 cups coconut cream
1 egg, beaten
For the Kroeung (=currypaste):
2 dried red chillies, soaked, drained and chopped into a paste
3 cloves garlic
2 T galangal, cut small
1 T lemon grass stalk
zest of ¼ kaffir lime
1 t salt
1 T kapi (a shrimp paste)
300 g young nhor leaves
1 T fish sauce
3 T kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
3 cayenne peppers
Banana leaves to make cups
First make the kroeung, then slice the catfish thinly and set aside. Remove nhor from stem; slice the kaffir lime leaves and cayenne peppers thinly.
Stir the kroeung into 1 cup of coconut milk, and when it has dissolved, add the egg, fish sauce and sliced fish. Then add the remaining coconut milk and mix well.
Make the banana leave cups, then put the nhor in first, and top with the fish mixture. Steam for about 20 minutes or until the coconut milk is solid, but still moist. Before serving top each cup with coconut cream and garnish with kaffir leaf and cayenne peppers.
Serve with steamed rice.
Making banana leaves cups:
First clean the leaves with a wet cloth, then dip them into boiling water so they are soft and do not crack when being shaped.
Cut circles 25cm in diameter and place two togther. This is important as one leaf is not strong enough to hold the mixture.
Mark a square in the middle of the circle, this will be the bottom of the cup.
Then put a thumb on one right angle of the square and pull up 2 sides, tucking the fold, and pinning together with a tiny bamboostick (or toothpick). Then move the next right and repeat. Continue until all 4 sides of the cup are held together.
Young nhor leaves are some sort of kale, best substituted with spinach. I've tried little gems as well, but that didn't work.