Nyonya Sambal Fish

deep fried red snapper

frying sambal paste

oil separating from the fried sambal

tamarind juice added to the fried sambal

oil surfacing to the top of the thickened sambal, indication that the sambal is ready

Directions

1 red snapper around 2 lbs, cleaned or any fish of your choice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

cooking for for deep frying the fish

blend together to form a fine paste:
15-20 red chillies
6 garlic cloves
1" galangal, sliced
1 lemon grass, sliced
1" ginger
1" cube shrimp paste or belacan
3 medium shallots, roughly chopped

3 tablespoon cooking oil use coconut oil for a fragrant sambal
1 heaping tablespoon of tamarind paste, mixed in 1 cup of water and strained
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
a bit of lime juice if needed

some finely sliced scallions or green onions or garnishing

Directions

1.  Make a few diagonal slits on both sides of the cleaned snapper.  Rub the snapper salt and 
     turmeric and leave it aside for about 10-15 minutes.
2.  Heat the cooking oil in a skillet on medium heat.  When the oil is hot, pat dry the fish 
     with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture and deep the fish on both sides until the 
     fish is crispy and golden brown on the outside. Remove and drain the fish on a paper 
     towel.
3.  While the fish is deep frying, you can start preparing the sambal. Blend all the 
      ingredients for the sambal until you get a fine paste.
4.  Heat the 3 tablespoon of oil in a pot on medium heat.  When the oil is hot add the sambal 
      ingredients and fry until the oil has separated and all the raw smell of the sambal is gone.
5.  When the oil has separated from the sambal, gently add in the tamarind juice and bring 
      the sambal to a boil. You can a bit more water if needed. Once the sambal has thickened 
      and you can see the oil surfacing on the top of the sambal, you can season the sambal 
      with the sugar and salt.  Add some lime juice if you like your sambal to be a bit on the 
      sour side.
6.  Place the deep fried snapper fish on a serving plate and pour the hot sambal over the 
     deep fried snapper and sprinkle some sliced scallions or green onions. Serve the fish     
     sambal with hot steaming rice.

My fish looked a little sad so I just decorated my pictures with daisies.