Prawns with belimbing asam recipe
Hedy Khoo | The New Paper | Tue Aug 7 2012
Singapore, August 7, 2012
It’s an incredibly simple dish to make with very tasty results.
The greatest difficulty is obtaining the one crucial ingredient which elevates the dish and gives it that unique sourish taste – belimbing asam.
It’s not the regular asam or tamarind that is widely used in dishes, but a specific fruit which imparts an amazing tang.
Madam Ong Gim Suat, 93, a housewife, shares this dish which she learnt from her mother’s Nonya friend years ago.
Her mother was originally from Penang and Peranakan, while her father was from China.
Says Madam Ong in a mixture of Mandarin and Hokkien: “I had an interest in cooking from an early age.
I was a kaypoh (busybody) in the kitchen.”
Madam Ong says she began cooking at 13, out of interest.
The dish is a family favourite. These days, she leaves it to her daughter-in-law to cook the dish.
Madam Ong stopped cooking in 2000 due to deteriorating eyesight caused by glaucoma.
But this sprightly senior remembers the recipe by heart.
The quantities of the ingredients are usually based on “agak agak” (Malay for guesswork).
Madam Ong says it is very much up to the individual on how much of each ingredient you want to add in.
Just remember not to overdo it with the coconut milk as the dish should be moist, but with no gravy.
The dish is not meant to be spicy, but is appreciated for its flavours, so Madam Ong says the chillies must be deseeded to give better texture to the dish.
Says Madam Ong: “The old Nonya whom I used to call Lao Sim, said this is not the same as cooking curry which has to be spicy.
“This dish is special because the lemon grass is fried until crisp, which gives it that fragrant aroma.”
The botanical name for belimbing asam is Averrhoa bilimbi.
But that’s not going to help much if you are trying to purchase it.
And forget the supermarket.
You are better off asking for belimbing asam at the wet market.
Indicate you are looking for the small sour fruit, as some vegetable sellers might think you are referring to belimbing besi – the name for starfruit.
I had a hard time getting my hands on the fruit, which looks like a miniature cucumber, minus the stripes.
After a fruitless search at Tekka Market, I found it at a little corner stall at the Geylang Serai Market.
None of the other stalls carried the fruit as supply is erratic and it does not keep well.
Says Madam Ong: “You have to use it quickly once you buy it, or it will start going soft and squishy after two days.”
Madam Ong used to buy it either at the market, or pluck the fruit from a plant which grew near her old home in Katong.
Said Madam Ong: “You can cook the dish without belimbing asam, but it will lack that pleasantly acidic taste.”
INGREDIENTS
300g prawns
2-3 belimbing asam
2 green chillies
2 red chillies
3 stalks of lemon grass
4 shallots, sliced
2-3 garlic, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of belacan
50ml coconut milk
Pinch of sugar
Salt for seasoning
METHOD
Wash and slice the belimbing asam.Sprinkle salt over the sliced belimbing and leave to marinate for 5 minutes.
Rinse the belimbing asam and set aside.
Remove the shells and veins of the prawns.
Deseed the chillies and slice thinly.
Peel and discard outermost layer of the lemon grass.
Slice off the root end.
Taking about 5cm of the white root part, slice thinly.
Pound and squeeze out any excess moisture.
Heat oil and deep-fry the sliced garlic until golden brown.
Place fried garlic on kitchen paper to drain off excess oil. Set aside.
Heat remaining oil and fry the sliced lemon grass until crisp.
Add the sliced shallots.
Add the belacan.
Add the prawns.
Add the sliced chillies and belimbing asam.
Add coconut milk.
Once the milk boils, the prawns should be cooked through.
Season with sugar and salt.
Serve.