Nyonya Style Steamed Fish Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

Cooking Nyonya dishes is labor-extensive, involves delicate preparation and requires mingling of a variety of spices which is pounded into a very specific texture. It is a perfect amalgamation of spices used by the Malay or Indonesian community such as pungent roots, aromatic leaves and sometimes together with candlenuts, shallots, shrimps paste, chilies, tamarind juice and coconut milk. But it all well-worth the effort as the finished dish proved. Nyonya style steamed seabass transformed into delectable melt-in-your-mouth morsels, smothered in the bath of sourish, spicy and tangy spices. The subtle selection of ingredients give it a wow factor that make you want to savor every mouthful.

If you're looking for easy delightful Chinese-Malay fusion to satisfy your spicy and sour cravings, you might want to try the recipe below.

娘惹式蒸鱼食谱

Ingredients :

1 seabass (siakap in Malay)(about 700g), cleaned

2 tbsp onion, shredded

2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Spices :

2 stalks lemongrass, chopped finely

3 tbsp ginger flower, chopped (bunga kantan in Malay)

1 tbsp bird's eye chillies (cili padi in Malay)

4 tbsp squeezed lime juice

Seasoning :

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

dash of pepper

Method :

1. Combine all the spices and seasoning, pour over the cleaned seabass.

2. Steam at high heat in a wok with boiling water for 10-12 minutes until the fish is cooked. Then remove the fish from wok.

3. Sprinkle shredded onion and coriander leaves on top of the steamed fish and serve hot with fluffy rice.

Check Recipe Index for more recipes

Go Back To My Homepage

Stir-fry Four-Angled Beans with Sambal Chilli Udang Belacan Recipe | Easy Asian Cooking

Pairing with the irresistible fiery hot sambal chilli udang belacan (spicy and pungent prawn paste), the crunchy four-angled beans also tinged with the sourness and sweetness of lime juice and sugar, making it a piquant Malaysian delicacies.

Snapped up some four-angled beans from Jusco store yesterday, thinking that it would be a perfect match for sambal chilli prawn paste (sambal cili udang belacan in Malay) that resided in my fridges for almost a week. The dish is easy to whip up and great to relish, and it naturally paves its way to many Malaysian kitchens and dining tables.

As its name implies, the presence of four frilly edge (fringe-like extension) that run lengthwise along the pod gives the fruit vegetable the name, winged beans or four-angled beans (翼豆或四角豆). Rather vague flavor-wise, four-angled beans are excellent seasoned with bold spices and herbs. Thus it's heavenly when pairing together with sambal chilli prawn paste, which is a premixes (pounded fresh chillis, dried shrimp, toasted shrimp paste (belacan), onions, garlic to which sugar and lime juice are added) that is commercially available in local groceries and wet markets.

Not yet a household word in the kitchens of America, this odd-looking bean has many culinary virtues. Nutritious winged beans offer an abundance of essential nutrients including protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins B, calcium, iron and fiber.

As winged beans have been experiencing worldwide growth despite its lack of popularity in the United States, you can easily find them especially in countries with nurturing tropical climates. For Malaysians which in favor of spicy and sour dish, you might consider to grab some four-angled beans home when you're browsing in supermarket or floundering around in wet market trying to figure out what to cook next. Make sure you have all the trimmings, especially sambal chilli prawn paste!

三巴虾米马来栈炒四角豆(翼豆)食谱

Ingredients :

400gm four-angled beans (aka winged beans or kacang botol / kacang keceper in Malay), cut straight across or on a slant 四角豆(翼豆)

A handful of medium to big prawns, shelled and deveined

4 tbsp of pounded sambal chilli prawn paste (sambal cili udang belacan in Malay) [available in local wet markets or groceries]

1 onion, peeled and shredded

5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

Seasoning :

2 limes, squeezed into lime juice

1/2 tsp sugar

Method :

1. Heat up the frying pan (or wok) and drizzle some cooking oil. Sauté the chopped garlic and onions with low flames, then add in sambal chilli prawn paste. Stir-fry till fragrant.

2. Add in prawns and stir-fry briskly before adding four-angled beans. Toss well. Lastly, give it a quick drizzle of lime juice, a dash of sugar and a sprinkle of water to make the dish moist. Stir briefly until heated through but do not overcook the vegetables. With several flipping of spatula, the crispy and crunchy sambal four-angled bean are ready to go with hot, fluffy white rice.

Check Recipe Index for more recipes

Go Back To My Homepage