Food, Dining & Family

Asam Pedas Melaka ( Malacca Spicy and Sour Gravy )

The local Asam Pedas cuisine is a Malay traditional authentic dish , that was brought down through generations . The Asam Pedas is well known for its hot , spicy and sour taste that captured millions of hearts . As you go along the journey of making the Asam Pedas , you will encounter varieties of methods and ingredients and spices added to define its signature taste and flavour.

There are the Asam Pedas ‘ rebus ‘ ( boiled ) , there are the Asam Pedas ‘ tumis ‘ ( sautéed ) , there are the type with added spices such as cumin and aniseed , there are some with additional roots ( rhyzomes ) like lemon grass , ginger , galangal and turmeric and as well as with black pepper corn to give it an extra kick . But whatever the ingredients and methods are , the most important basic essentials in making the real Asam Pedas are the chillies ( hot ) , tarmarind pulp ( sour ) and Vietnamese Mint - Daun kesum for its infused herbal taste and prawn paste for its yummy unforgettable feeling .

In Malacca , the state which is well acknowledged for this signature dish has compilation of both Malays and Baba Nyonya’s . Different ingredients are used to create the versions and these versions are featured below . The dish, a blend of spicy, sour and slightly sweet in flavor, is one of the most alluring factor for visitors to drop in Malacca . Besides fishes you can have variation of meat, beef and chicken cooked in the Asam Pedas style .

The Traditional Malay Asam Pedas

The ingredients

1 kg of Stingray ( ikan Pari ) - cut nto smaller pieces

Blend

15 dried chilis - wash and boil to soften
10 shallot
3 cloves garlic
An inch ginger
A cm fresh galangal
2 lemon grass
An inch fresh turmeric
1 tspoon of prawn paste - wash and grill

Other ingredients

3 tblspoons of tamarind pulp - mix with a 500 ml of water to make into thick tamarind juice
A small bowl of daun kesum ( Vietnamese mint leaves )
A stalk of fresh ginger flower
5 fresh kaffir leaves
5 ladies fingers
a cup of water ( for extra gravy )
Salt and palm sugar to taste.

How to do :

First, heat enough oil in a pot. Then , sauteed the blended ingredients until fragrant. Add in the tamarind juice . Stir and drop in the herbs,

( Vietnamese mint leaves , the shredded ginger flower ) . Add water . Leave it to simmer until it produce an aromatic smell . Add in the ladiesfingers, salt and palm sugar and leave it to boil . Once boiling , add in the stingrays, stir and let it simmer over low heat . Add the kaffir lime leaves . Off the heat once the fish is cooked .

The Baba Nyonya Asam Pedas

The same basic ingredients as above required except it consist of additional herbs as flavor. The herbs included are fresh turmeric leaves, fresh sand ginger leaves, the Vietnamese mint leaves , Betel leaves ( Daun Kadok ) , the fresh ginger flower , all are thinly sliced . The sliced herbs are added to the sauteed blended spices along with fresh tamarind juice and salt with palm sugar . Simmer until fragrant aroma exude . Add water and the fishes . Cover with lid . Let it simmer over low to med heat . The infused gravy will release an aromatic smell . Once this happen , off the heat and serve .

In other style of Nynya Asam Pedas , " Buah Keluak " - a kind of black nut originated from Indonesia , well known for its aromatic smell , is used as part of the ingredients , omitting the additional herbs . The Buah Keluak is commonly added in most peranakan cooking . The nut is soaked and cracked open and pounded or blended into paste . To make the ' Asam Pedas Buah Keluak ' , the same procedures apply . The Buah Keluak paste is added with the blended spices , the tamarind juice , along with salt and sugar and the fish cutlets . Leaveto simmer till fragrant before you off the heat .

* Buah Keluak is a seasonal type of fruits or nuts . Always remember to buy the readily processed Buah Keluak available in the market . The nutty taste of the Buah Keluak maybe very pungent to some but pleasant to others .