Sambal Fish (With Tortillas)

I so loved that bowl of yummilicious Sambal Prawns that I quickly made the same dish again, but with fish instead. :) Call me unoriginal, but I'm all for making spin-offs with things I like! That philosophy extends particularly to shoe shopping ... if I like the cut and feel of a pair of shoes, I usually get the same pair in a few colours. ;)


Sambal Fish and Tortillas? That's what I call fusion, peeps!

I ditched steamed white rice in favour of tortillas, just for a change, but mainly because I saw some really awesome ones at my favourite lovelies - Penny's and Trix's. Thank you, dearies! I went with Penny's version for this because I had so much coriander in the fridge ... and coriander is just perfect with fish.

Recipe for Tortillas
(from Jeroxie)

- 200g of flour
- Pinch of salt
- 225ml of water (it varies, just add a bit at the time if it is too dry)
* Note: I halved the measurements and it yielded just enough tortillas for 2 persons.

1. Mix the flour, very finely chopped coriander leaves, salt and water. Work the dough till it becomes quite soft. Divide into 1-inch balls.

2. Flatten the balls and roll it out flat and quite thin. No oil is required. Place the thin dough onto a heated pan (lower heat) and allow it to sit about 40secs on each side. It's quite fun to see it bloat and balloon as it cooks!

3. Place a towel over the tortillas as you continue making the rest.

Honestly though, I still prefer pratas to tortillas. Pratas are greasy and flaky, that's why! But I'm glad I gave tortillas a shot, cos you don't know till you've tried. :)


For this Sambal Fish, you can use any type of firm white fish. I used snapper fillets. I also made the tortillas small, so that I could fold and devour whole. ;) Kinda like eating sushi ... toss the whole thing in! Nom nom nom.

Recipe for Sambal Fish
(adapted from inSing)

Serves 2-4

- 200g to 300g firm, white fish fillets
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 300g grated coconut, squeezed for thick cream (about 1/4 to 2/3 cup), or use coconut milk from packets or cans (I used about 1/2 cup coconut cream from a packet)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon assam pulp (tamarind)
- 1/4 cup water
- Handful of chopped coriander

Spice mixture*:
- 5 buah keras, aka candlenuts (if you don't have candlenuts, use macademias)
- 10 fresh red chillies
- 1 stalk serai (lemon grass), use only the bottom 2 cm at the root end
- 1/2 teaspoon belacan (shrimp paste)
- 10 shallots, peeled
* Note: If, like me, you have ready made rempah in the freezer, just use 2 to 3 tbsps and you'll get your piping hot dish in even lesser time.

1. Pound or grind all the spice ingredients except for the shallots. When the paste is semi fine, add the shallots and grind to make a fine paste. You add shallots last as they are the softest ingredient and if mixed with the hard ingredients, will prevent the harder ingredients from being ground to a fine paste.

2. Rinse fish fillets and season with a little salt.

3. Mix assam pulp with water, knead and strain through a sieve to remove seeds. Retain assam water.

4. Heat a wok or saucepan, add the oil and when it is hot, add the spice mixture and stir fry for 3-4 minutes till fragrant and the oil has exuded.

5. Add fish fillets and gently stir fry to coat them with the spice mixture.

6. Add coconut milk and tamarind water, coriander leaves, and bring to a slow boil. Cook fish fillets through ... about 4 mins. Taste test and add salt and sugar if required.

7. Time to eat!


See the sad life of a food blogger? Gotta cook, style, photograph AND pose with my own food! :( Thank goodness the eating makes up for everything.