About this recipe
Amok is the dish many people outside Cambodia meet first, and inside the country it is a special-occasion and restaurant favourite rather than a daily one. Fillets of freshwater fish are folded through a fragrant yellow kroeung, coconut cream and egg, then steamed gently in a banana-leaf cup until the mixture sets to a soft, mousse-like curry you eat with a spoon. It is widely associated with Khmer cuisine and is often described as a national dish, though the steamed-curry idea is shared with neighbouring cuisines and its exact history is logged here for verification. What marks the Cambodian form is the set, custard-like texture, the yellow kroeung, and the traditional lining of noni or other leafy greens beneath the fish.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 40 minutes
- Cook
- 25 minutes
- Total
- 65 minutes
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Spice
- Mild to medium
Allergens Contains fish, egg, coconut and shellfish (shrimp paste / prahok). Gluten-free if the shrimp paste and fish sauce used are gluten-free. Not vegetarian. See the halal-status field.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The yellow kroeung (or use 1/3 cup prepared, recipe #81)
- 3 stalks lemongrass, tender inner part only, thinly sliced
- 5 slices fresh or frozen galangal (about 1 in / 2.5 cm each), chopped
- 1 in (2.5 cm) fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped, or 1 tsp (3 g) ground turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, centre rib removed, plus more to garnish
- 1 tsp (5 g) shrimp paste (kapi)
The amok
- 1 lb (450 g) skinless freshwater fish fillet (snakehead if available; or catfish, tilapia or another firm white fish), cut into 2 in (5 cm) pieces
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) coconut cream, divided
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) fish sauce
- 1 tsp (5 g) palm sugar, grated or chopped
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp (5 g) prahok, mashed and strained (optional, for a more traditional depth)
- 2 cups (about 60 g) noni leaves (slok ngor), or substitute baby spinach or thinly sliced Chinese cabbage, blanched
To finish
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) thick coconut cream, for topping
- 1 red chilli, seeded and finely slivered
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely shredded
- Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Equipment
- Steamer with a lid, or a wide pot with a rack and a tight lid
- Mortar and pestle, or a small food processor, for the kroeung
- Banana leaves for cups (or four 6 oz / 175 ml heatproof ramekins)
- Mixing bowl and a spatula
Method
- Make the kroeung: pound the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots and kaffir lime leaves to a smooth paste in a mortar, working in the order of hardest to softest, then pound in the shrimp paste. (Or blend with a splash of the coconut cream.) You want about 1/3 cup.
- If using banana leaves, cut into 6 in (15 cm) rounds, soften them briefly over a flame or in hot water so they fold without splitting, and pin into four small cups with toothpicks. Line the base of each with a few blanched noni or substitute greens.
- In a bowl, combine the kroeung with 1 cup (240 ml) of the coconut cream, the beaten egg, fish sauce, palm sugar, salt and the optional prahok. Stir in one direction for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened and well blended.
- Fold the fish pieces gently through the mixture until they are well coated. Divide among the banana-leaf cups or ramekins, filling them about three-quarters full.
- Steam over gently boiling water, covered, for 18 to 25 minutes, until the mixture is set and no longer wet in the centre when you nudge it. A knife tip inserted into the middle should come out clean and the fish should flake.
- Warm the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml) thick coconut cream with a pinch of salt until it loosens. Spoon a little over each amok, then scatter with slivered chilli and shredded kaffir lime leaf.
- Serve hot, in the cups, with steamed rice alongside.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Fish Amok sits in the Cambodia chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Cambodia chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.