Fish sambal
Serves 4
500g thick fish fillets, e.g. hapuku, bluenose, blue moki, ling or monkfish, cut into 4-5cm chunks
About ¼ cup rice flour
Pinch each salt and fine white pepper
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp neutral oil, e.g. grapeseed
SAUCE
1 Tbsp neutral oil eg grapeseed
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp blachan (shrimp paste)
2 x 10cm stalks lemongrass, lightly pounded, or 2 tsp minced lemongrass
2 tsp sambal oelek, or sriracha chilli sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
¼ cup mirin
1 x 400ml can coconut cream
24 prawn tails (optional)
TO FINISH
¼ cup chopped coriander
1 Tbsp fish sauce, or more to taste
2 Tbsp lime juice, or more to taste Rice and Asian greens (to serve)
Mix flour with salt and pepper and place in a clean paper bag. Add fish a few pieces at a time and shake to lightly coat in flour, shaking off excess. Add more seasoned rice flour to bag as needed. Heat butter and oil together in a pan and fry fillets until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add oil, onion, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook until onions are softened — about 5 minutes. Crumble over blachan and cook another minute, pressing with the back if a spoon to release flavours. Add lemongrass, sambal oelek, soy sauce, mirin and coconut cream; bring to a simmer. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Discard lemongrass stalks. Mix half the coriander into sauce, add the browned fish and prawns, if using. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes until both fish and prawns are fully cooked. Mix in fish sauce and lime juice, taste and adjust quantities to taste. Garnish with remaining coriander. Serve over rice with lightly cooked Asian greens.
Match this with ... Zephyr Organic Marlborough 2022 ($27)
Ben Glover and his clever team at Zephyr consistently produce one of New Zealand’s greatest gewurztraminers. They never fail. They’re like gewurz whisperers — or gewurzperers for short. The 2022 is predictably bright, bouncy, and bursting with floral intensity. Rosewater, freshly grated ginger, and a vibrant core of peachy complexity lead to a refreshingly spicy, fruit-centric palate and a marathon-like finish. It’s sublime on its own, but the second you sip it with this fish sambal, there’ll be unicorns and glitter and sunbeams on your tongue. Nikmati hidangan anda! zephyrwine.com