aromatic burmese fish stew

(from Joanna’s recipe box)

delicious over rice (but not for david)

Source: http://www.notderbypie.com/aromatic-burmese-fish-stew/

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup chopped lemongrass (1 stalk yields almost exactly this much)
  • 1 2-inch knob of tumeric root, chopped; or substitute 1 tablespoon ground tumeric
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 inch knob of ginger (made this up since it wasn't in the recipe)
  • 4-5 medium shallots, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro stems (Duguid calls for roots but I couldn’t find them)
  • 1-4 green cayenne or other green chiles, sliced (Duguid calls for about 1/2 cup, but I’m warning you, that is a lot of chiles. I used only 2 serrano chiles and the stew was plenty spicy for me.)
  • 8 cups water
  • 2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 2 teaspoons miso (preferably brown but any works)
  • 3 pounds skinned, filleted mild but thick white fish, such as halibut, cod, or hake; cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 2 scallions, minced
  • 2 cups loosely backed Thai basil and/or cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoons rice flour, optional

Directions

  1. Combine lemongrass, tumeric, shallots, garlic, ginger, coriander, 1 chile, and 1 tablespoon salt in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Add a couple tablespoons of water if necessary, and scrape down the sides occasionally.

  2. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a large pot or casserole. Add the spice paste, the remaining tablespoon of salt, and the tomatoes. When the water returns to a boil, boil hard for 10 minutes.

  3. Turn the heat to medium-low. Scoop out a little broth into a small bowl and dissolve the miso in the broth, then add back to the pot. Add the fish, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Add most of scallions and herbs, stir to combine, and remove the stew from the heat.

  4. Serve over white or brown rice, with the remaining herbs and scallions.

    • If you want to thicken the stew, follow the instructions for the miso: scoop out some broth, stir the rice flour into the broth until smooth, then pour the slurry back into the broth and stir to combine

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