Asam Pedas: Singapore and Malay Sour-Spicy Fish Stew

A fish stew where tamarind's sourness rises in the steam

In the kitchen you soak dried chiles in hot water, chop onion and lemongrass, and loosen tamarind in water. By this point the air has turned in a direction entirely different from an ordinary simmered fish. Not the sweet-salty of soy sauce, but the aroma of red oil, a sourness like citrus and the stock that comes from the fish. When small bubbles begin to form at the edge of the pot, the hand that spoons out white rice naturally quickens.

Asam pedas, in the local spelling, means "sour, spicy" in Malay, and as the name says, it is a dish of fish simmered with the sourness of tamarind and the heat of chile. It is eaten across the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay and Peranakan tables of Singapore, and names and aromatics such as asam padeh and gerang asam change by region. Rather than deciding it originated in Singapore alone, seeing it as a sour-spicy fish stew that grew up between port towns and straits makes both shopping and building the flavor easier to understand.

This article makes a home version centered on a white fish you can find at a regular supermarket, with tamarind paste, lemongrass, turmeric and dried chiles. The stingray and red fish used locally, torch ginger and laksa leaf are hard to get, so we separate the ingredients to keep from those to swap. Sourness, a red aromatic paste, and cooking that doesn't let the fish fall apart: keep these three and you can get quite close even in a home kitchen.

For another casual Singaporean meal, try roti john (in Japanese), and for the aroma of chicken stock and rice, Hainanese chicken rice (in Japanese). As another form of eating fish with aromatics, otak-otak, wrapped in leaves and grilled, is a close next read. To compare as sour fish dishes, set it beside the Philippines' sinigang and Thailand's tom yum goong (in Japanese), and the differences in how tamarind is used become visible.

What is asam pedas — a sour-spicy fish stew eaten in Singapore

The core of asam pedas is the balance of sourness and heat. It is not a curry rounded with coconut milk: a red aromatic paste is fried, loosened with the liquid of tamarind, and the fish is simmered briefly. While the paste is fried until a thin film of oil floats on the surface, the soup itself is not made heavy. Over rice, the sourness brings the mouth back lightly, and the fat of the fish and the aroma of chile remain after.

In Singapore's food culture, chile pastes such as sambal and lempah are widely used in Malay, Peranakan and Eurasian cooking. Asam pedas is an extension of that, and the fish, vegetables and sour ingredients change by shop and household. The National Heritage Board's Kampong Gelam article also tells how Minangkabau-style eateries have added sweetness to asam pedas to suit Singapore tastes, which shows that locally too it is a dish adjusted to place and eaters, not "one correct answer."

In Peranakan recipes, laksa leaf and torch ginger can be the pillar of the aroma. But they are hard to gather every time outside the region. In this article the pillars of aroma lean on lemongrass, ginger and turmeric, with a practical solution of adding a little shiso or cilantro at the end. It is not a complete reproduction; what matters is deciding first which aromas draw the outline of the dish.

Ingredients — decide the fish, tamarind and aromatic paste first

Serves 4. Use thick fillets of fish. A fish that breaks easily like cod also works, but the first time, ones whose flesh doesn't flake easily when heated, such as Spanish mackerel, swordfish, sea bass or sea bream, are easier to handle. If using frozen fish, thaw it in the refrigerator, wipe the surface dry and then salt it.

Ingredients that cause hesitation when shopping — fix the sourness and aroma

Asam pedas is not a dish for which you buy the fish or okra online. What is worth looking at is the core of sourness, aromatics and color that sometimes can't be gathered at a nearby supermarket. If these are vague it easily becomes just a red fish soup, so decide the shopping axis first.

Tamarind is the star of this dish. Lemon or vinegar also bring sourness, but it is different from the round fruity sourness of tamarind. The first time, using paste saves the work of loosening seeds and straining, and makes sourness easier to adjust.

Shrimp paste is an ingredient that adds fermented umami to the red soup in small amounts. You can make it without, but to move toward a Malay-style sour-spicy fish stew, mixing 1/2 tsp into the aromatic paste gives more outline than miso alone. At a table with a shellfish allergy, don't force it; make up for it lightly with miso and fish sauce.

Turmeric is not only for color but the aromatic base that rounds out the smell of fish. If you can't get fresh turmeric, a small amount of powder is enough. Too much turns powdery and bitter, so 1 tsp is the upper limit.

Method — fry the paste and cook the fish briefly

What goes wrong in this dish is underfrying the aromatic paste and overcooking the fish. Fry the paste without scorching until the oil seeps out, and add the fish last, cooking it quietly over low heat. Stir around after the fish goes in and the flesh breaks up and the soup clouds.

A branching table for getting closer to the original in a home kitchen

Asam pedas is not a dish you can't make without gathering every local ingredient. But what you swap changes the direction of the flavor greatly. The first time, keep the tamarind, lemongrass and turmeric, and lean the fish and herbs toward what you can buy without strain.

The biggest worry is the fish. Stingray gives a local feel but is not reliably available at home. Spanish mackerel balances fat and soft flesh well and suits a sour soup. Swordfish doesn't break down easily and has little fishy smell, so it suits the first time. If you use cod, prioritize a shorter cooking time and not touching it in the pot.

It is better not to replace the sourness with vinegar. Vinegar is sharp and takes the fish's aroma in another direction. In an emergency without tamarind, there is a way to mix 2 tsp pickled plum (ume) paste and 2 tsp lemon juice with water, but this is a rescue for a home kitchen. If you call it asam pedas, prepare tamarind if at all possible.

The menu centers on rice. Rather than putting heavy fried food beside it, cucumber, boiled egg and a light stir-fry of greens suit it. To widen it into a Southeast Asian table, compare it with the sambal of Malaysia's nasi lemak, the sourness of Indonesia's arsik and the herbal quality of Thailand's tom yum goong (in Japanese), and the outline of asam pedas becomes clear.

Causes of failure — too sour, fish falls apart, aroma is weak

Adjusting sourness is easier if you don't do it all at once at the end. Putting all the tamarind in from the start turns too sharp with a strongly concentrated product. With a paste you're using for the first time, start with 20 g and add after tasting in step 3, which is safer. Sourness rounds slightly with time, so if it feels "just a little strong" while simmering, it will be right when paired with rice.

The fish breaking down shows in the look before the taste. If the edges of the flesh begin to split and the soup clouds with fine fish bits, that is the sign the heat is too high. Lower to low heat, and when adding vegetables, slide them into an open spot in the pot rather than dropping them on the fish.

If the aroma is weak, adding chile powder afterward gives no depth. In the step of frying the red aromatic paste, it is important to drive off the moisture of the onion and move the color of chile and turmeric into the oil. Do not shorten this step alone.

How to eat, store and plan a menu

The way of eating is simple. Spoon rice into a deep bowl and pour the fish and red soup over it. With the stickiness of okra, the softness of eggplant and the sourness of tomato, a light side dish is enough. Sliced cucumber, boiled egg, garlic-stir-fried greens and unsweetened tea go well.

To store, move it to a wide container without breaking the fish. Let it cool slightly and refrigerate, with the storage guide up to the next day. Even with the sourness of tamarind it is a fish dish, so don't keep it long. To reheat, move it to a pot and warm over low heat for 5 to 6 minutes until the soup bubbles. In a microwave, 1 minute 30 seconds at 600 W, adding 30 seconds at a time if the center of the fish is cold.

What to avoid most with make-ahead is storing the fish and rice together. The rice takes up the sour soup and turns heavy the next day. Keeping soup as soup and rice as rice brings the texture back when reheated.

Leftover soup can also be used the next lunch over somen or rice noodles. In that case take out the fish, bring only the soup to a light boil and pour it over the noodles. Adding cilantro, shiso and cucumber keeps the sourness from coming too far forward and makes it easier to eat.

FAQ

Can I make it without tamarind?

You can, but the core of the dish changes a good deal. In an emergency, you can make sourness by mixing 2 tsp pickled plum paste, 2 tsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp water. But the round fruitiness of tamarind won't come out. If you are making it as asam pedas from the first time, preparing tamarind paste fails less.

Which fish suits it best?

At a regular supermarket, Spanish mackerel, swordfish, sea bass and sea bream are easy to handle. Cod is easy to get but breaks down easily, so choose thick fillets and don't touch it as it cooks. Salmon also works, but its fat and aroma are strong and drift a little from the impression of a local white fish.

Will the taste be weak without shrimp paste?

It will be a little lighter, but you can make it. If you have a shrimp allergy, don't force it in; make up with 1/2 tsp miso and 1 tsp fish sauce. If you want to avoid fish sauce too, increase salt by 1/4 tsp and fry the aromatic paste well to bring out depth.

How do I make it less hot?

Reduce the dried chiles to 6 and remove more of the seeds. Don't put in fresh chiles. Only those who like heat add sambal or chile flakes at the table. Making the whole pot hot and then diluting it also easily breaks the balance of sourness and saltiness.

May I add coconut milk?

Adding it moves toward a different fish curry. The asam pedas character lies in the sourness and heat not rounded with coconut. When you want to soften the heat, rather than coconut milk, add a little sugar and return the mouth with rice and cucumber to keep the outline of the dish.

What goes with it to make a complete table?

Rice, cucumber and stir-fried greens alone are enough. For a Southeast Asian menu, compare it with the ginger sauce of Hainanese chicken rice (in Japanese), the rich soup of laksa and the sourness of sinigang, and the range of tamarind dishes becomes visible.

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