0 Amok over amok

Curiosity and craving duly satisfied. Amok trei (steamed fish in a curry coconut custard) can be considered as the Cambodian sibling of Singapore's otah, except the fish is left whole instead of pureed to a paste. In fact, the spices are pretty similar - garlic, shallots, lemongrass, kaffir lime, shrimp paste and coconut. I compared various recipes online and here's my version.

Amok trei

Yield: 5 small servings

Ingredients
Curry paste (kroeung)

• 1 red chili, deseeded (ideally should use dried red chilis)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 sticks lemon grass, trimmed and chopped
• 2" galangal, peeled and chopped
• 2" ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, finely minced
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Curry (amok)

• 400g fish, skin removed and diced into chunks(I used toman, also called snakehead)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (ideally should use palm sugar)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 egg
• banana leaves

Directions

1. Blend curry paste (except oil) using food processor, or more traditionally - and tedious - a mortar and pestle.
2. In a medium/large pot, fry curry paste in oil until fragrant, about 1-2 min.
3. Add coconut milk, sugar and fish sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 mins. Allow to cool.
4. Meanwhile, fold the banana leaves into cups. For a 7 cm cup, cut out a 20 cm diameter circle. Use two circles for each cup with the leaf grains crossing for added strength. Fold in the corners and secure using toothpick or staples (initially I tried using toothpicks but the leaves kept tearing; staples were much better although less presentable).
5. Beat eggs gently into cooled coconut milk mixture. Add fish chunks.
6. Divide the entire mixture among the banana cups.
7. Steam for 20-25 minutes until the custard is set.

Typing this, I realized I haven't posted a recipe in quite awhile. I'm glad I'm back at tring out new recipes! The final result was a non-spicy coconutty gravy. It did not quite reach the thickness of custard. That might be due to the coconut milk (homemade, thus probably more liquid) or insufficient eggs; some recipes call for coconut cream and 2 eggs, which I don't think my heart will be thankful for. Nevertheless, the spices compensated for all that. Full of lemongrass and lime! I would prefer a more spicy kick to it though. Maybe it was because I did not use dried chilis. I would add some crushed red pepper flakes next time (although it's not authentic to do so).

The gravy (not quite custard as I mentioned above) was perfect for dunking rice into. I slurped up every bit of gravy with Pappy's lup cheong rice sans lup cheong. I haven't enjoyed coconut-based curries since... I can't even remember. I'm thankful for having gotten over the irrational fear of coconut milk and coconut-based dishes. MCFAs, bring it on!