Dish: Asam Pedas Sotong 'Sambal' (Sour Spicy Squid)

Today recipe "Asam Pedas Sotong"or "Sour Spicy Squid". My superb favorite food ever!!! one of the recipe I learned from my mother through phone. It's simple and easy to prepare to cook. Only cook Asam Pedas and eat with rice can make you fly.....

Because this recipe came from Johor, it's also can called Asam Pedas Johor. There are different cooking style for each state of Malaysia to make Asam Pedas.

Asam Pedas Sotong (Sour Spice Squid)

Asam Pedas (Indonesian: Asam Pedas, Malay: Asam Pedas, Minangkabau: Asam Padeh, English: Sour and Spicy) is a Minangkabau and Malay sour and spicy stew dish popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. The main ingredients (usually seafoods or freshwater fishes) were cooked in asam (tamarind) fruit juice with chilli and many other spices. The cooking process involves soaking the pulp of the fruit until it is soft and then squeezing out the juice for cooking the fish. Asam paste may be substituted for convenience. Various vegetables such as terong or brinjals (Indian eggplants), okra and tomatoes are added. Fishes and seafoods (such as mackerel, red snapper, tuna, gourami, pangasius or cuttlefish) either whole body or only fish heads are added to make a spicy and tart fish stew. It is important that the fish remain intact for serving so generally the fish is added last. In Bengal, India this dish is called macher tak (sour fish). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asam_pedas

Basic Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoon of sugar/ brown sugar (depending how sweet you want it to be)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt (depend)
• 4-6 tablespoon of cooking oil
• 3-4 cup of water

serves for 3-4 persons

Main Ingredients:

A) 4-5 big squid (also can use any type of white fleshed fish, red snapper, grey snapper, spanish mackerel, catfish, giant catfish, pangasius, tuna, chicken, lamp or beef).

*B) RED DRIED CHILLIES (20-30 dried chillies, depend how spicy limit like to be)

*B) GREEN LEAVES (2-3 "daun ketumbar"or bunch Laksa leaf or Viernamese Coriander

C) 100g tamarind paste "assam jawa", mixed with one bowl of water (depend). Also can use or put together with 5-9 pieces tamarind peel "assam keping" but the flavor will different taste.

D) 4 shallots onion for small size but if big can use 2 onions.

E) 4-8 clove fresh garlic

F) 1-2 fresh ginger

G) 1 fresh turmeric

H) 4-5 tomatoes

I) 1-2 bud ginger flaower or "bunga kantan"

J) 4-5 okra or ladies' fingers

Instruction:

Cut and sliced

1. Dried chillies
2. Garlic
3. Turmeric
4. Onion 
5. Tomatoes
6. Laksa leaf
7. Squid

Blender

1. (Dried chillies + Garlic + Turmeric + Onion) Blend together with 2-3 cup of water

Cook 10-20 minutes

1. Preheat the pot and pour the cooking oil.
2. Pour blended ingredients into the pot with boiling oil.
3. Control the heat and stir irregular to make sure not charred.
4. Stir the ingredients till the chillies gravy cooked (looks like red oily or the oil separate with the gracy)

5. Pour the tamarind gravy or "assam jawa" then stir till boiling

6. Put the squid in the hot boiling gravy asam pedas.

6. Put the laksa leaf, tomatoes, ladies' finger in the hot boiling gravy asam pedas.

7. Stir until the all ingredients cooked. Don't forget to put salt and sugar and stir. The asam pedas is ready to serve. Cool down to room temperature.

8. Ready to serve !!! Asam Pedas

Asam Pedas Power !!!