Burmese curry does not use spices, just a paste made of onions, garlic and ginger, cooked until fragrant and then reddened with cayenne and paprika or annato. For chicken curry, you add cinnamon sticks when cooking. For fish curry, you can add fish sauce, tomatoes and lightly crushed lemon grass stalks.
Burmese Fish Curry
I learned this recipe from my Burmese friend and excellent cook, Ma Toe. I was blessed to get to know her when we lived across the street from each other in Brazil. I never wrote it down way back then but have cooked it from memory for years. This is the first time I've put the recipe down.Ingredients
For the paste (enough for 3 pots of curry -makes 3 1/2 cups or 825g- freeze the balance):
4 large onions
2-3 normal heads of garlic or 4-5 small ones
About 5-6 inches of fresh ginger
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light cooking oil plus a little for the pot
1-2 teaspoons cayenne
2-3 teaspoons paprika or ground annato
Find instructions for the paste here: https://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/2018/09/burmese-curry-paste.html
For the fish curry:
2 lbs or 900g fish (or substitute shelled shrimp or prawns)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Black pepper
2 good serving spoons Burmese curry paste (1/3 of recipe above or about 275g)
4-5 medium tomatoes (about 1 3/4 lbs or 800g)
2 stalks lemon grass
Good handful cilantro or fresh coriander
Optional for serving: steamed white rice and lime slices
Tip: You can use boneless fish, cut into chunks, if you prefer but fish with bones will add more flavor.
Method
Make your curry paste according to the instructions in this post. It makes enough for three pots of curry - chicken, seafood or vegetable - so you'll freeze the balance.
Season your fish with the fish sauce, black pepper and turmeric. (This can even be done earlier, while your paste is cooking, if you are making it fresh that day. In that case, refrigerate the fish until you are ready to add it in.)
Put one third of your Burmese curry paste into a large pan and warm it through. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the pot.
Give the bottom of the lemon grass stalks a good bash with a hammer or your pestle. You want to bruise and crush them a little so they can release their flavor but you want them all in one piece so they can be removed later.
Add the lemon grass stalks and about 2 cups or 480ml water to the pot.
Cook, covered, for about 20-30 minutes over a low fire. Stir the curry sauce occasionally. After the 20-30 minutes is up, add in the pieces of fish, working them under the sauce.
Cook, covered, until the fish is done, stirring occasionally, perhaps another 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop your cilantro.
Once the fish is cooked through, check the seasoning and add more fish sauce or a little salt, if necessary. Remove the lemongrass stalks and discard. Top the Burmese fish curry with the chopped cilantro.
Serve with steamed white rice and slices of lime, if desired.
We also add in more pepper in the form of my homemade pepper sauce. Enjoy!
This month my Fish Friday Foodies are cooking up seafood stews at the behest of our talented host Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Check out the great recipes everyone is sharing:
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