Tangy Seafood with Pineapple & Aromatic Herb Broth

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If you love seafood with a little tang and a lot of fragrance, this is one dish you’ll want to try.

This seafood dish is cooked in a beautifully aromatic broth made with fresh herbs, spices, pineapple, and tamarind. The pineapple and tamarind juice are the souls of this dish, giving the broth its lovely sweet-tangy flavor, while lemongrass, ginger flower, galangal, daun kesum and chilies add layers of fragrance and a gentle kick of heat.


I use red snapper, prawns, and squid, so every spoonful of the broth comes with something different. The squid is scored in a tight crisscross pattern before blanching, which makes it curl beautifully when cooked and helps keep it tender.

It may look like there are quite a few ingredients, but once the spice paste is blended, the rest of the cooking is quite straightforward.

Full written steps, tips, and exact measurements are below. Keep scrolling!





INGREDIENTS

Set A

600 g red snapper, cut into steaks

150 g squid, cleaned

150 g prawns (10–12 pieces), heads removed, shells and tails left on

100 g tomato, cut to wedges

50 g ladies' fingers

50 g pineapple, sliced

1 stalk ginger flower, shredded

3 stalks lemongrass, flattened

2 g daun kesum

45 g tamarind juice

2 tsp salt

1 tsp fine sugar

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 litre fish stock


Set B

8 g belacan

3 g turmeric, peeled and sliced

20 g galangal, peeled and sliced        

60 g shallots, peeled and sliced

40 g red chillies, cut

50 g cooking oil


PREPARATION

1. Prepare the spice paste 
Blend all the ingredients in Set B into a smooth paste.

2. Prepare the fish
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Turn off the heat and gently place the fish into the hot water. Blanch for 10 minutes, then remove and drain. Reserve 1 litre of the fish stock for making the broth.

3. Prepare the squid 
Clean the squid and score the inside with a sharp knife in a tight crisscross pattern. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Briefly blanch the squid, then remove and drain. This helps prevent it from becoming overcooked and tough.

4. Prepare the prawns 
Remove the heads and shells from the prawns, leaving the tails intact.

COOKING

1. Heat a wok or large pot over low heat. Add the blended spice paste and sauté gently.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and continue frying until the paste is evenly cooked and turns reddish.

3. Add the flattened lemongrass and continue sautéing until the spice paste becomes slightly brown and fragrant.

4. Pour in 1 liter of reserved fish stock. Cook until the soup bubbling, add the pineapple, tomato wedges and daun kesum (gently bruising the leaves). Stir well and bring the broth to a gentle simmer.

5. Add the salt, sugar, ladies' fingers, shredded ginger flower and tamarind juice. Stir well and simmer for about 3 minutes.

6. Add the prawns and blanched red snappers. Cook until the fish is cooked through and the prawns turn pink and opaque.

7. Finally, add the blanched squid and cook briefly, just until heated through. Avoid overcooking the squid, so it stays tender.

8.Taste the broth and adjust the salt, sugar or tamarind juice according to your preference.

9.Ladle the seafood and fragrant broth into a serving dish and serve hot with steamed rice.


NOTE

The beauty of this dish is really in the broth. The pineapple gives it a gentle sweetness while the tamarind brings the characteristic tang, and all the fresh herbs and spices give it that wonderfully fragrant flavor.

And don't forget the broth when serving; that's where all the flavors come together!

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