Ikan Sepat Belimbing Buluh

Recently mom-in-law gave me some belimbing buluh (real small and sour fruit) coz I requested for it to make fish curry. This fruit is about the length of a thumb and is normally cooked as a sour and spicy dish. They are not easily available in supermarkets. Not sure about night markets...For more info on belimbing buluh, go here.

I found a delicious sounding recipe from here. There are no exact measurements of ingredients given, so I just used my instincts. Turned out pretty tasty. Will definitely cook it again :)

Here's my version of it:

7-8 ikan sepat masin – soak 30-45min, change water a couple times, then drain well and fry
20 small Belimbing buluh
1 grated coconut + 1C water , squeezed to make 2C coconut milk

Pound to make paste:
8 shallots
4 garlic
2cm turmeric
2cm ginger
20 small cili padi

Dry fry/toast and pound/grind coarsely:
1 tsp biji ketumbar (coriander seeds)
½ tsp jintan putih (cumin seeds)
1/2 tsp jintan manis (aniseeds)

I got these lovely ikan sepat masin from our Penang trip. You must soak them for at least 30 minutes to remove excessive salt and wax coating the fish. Fry in oil like how you would fry fresh fish. This is not necessary, but does help in keeping them from breaking up when being boiled for long.

Pound all spice ingredients with a mortal and pestle.

Clockwise from L to R: coriander, cumin, aniseed

freshly squeeze coconut milk, spice paste and ground dry spices

wash and drain the belimbing buluh well. Cut off the head and tails

What to do:

Heat about 1.5 TBSP oil, fry the spice paste and seeds till oil surface Add in all the coconut milk, let it boil

Then add in belimbing and fried fishSeason to taste with sugar or salt (but taste first before adding any salt). Boil a little while more.

Dish up. So easy and tasty. Very appetizing... you can replace the belimbing buluh with semi ripe pineapples chopped to bite size.