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Halal-conscious recipe

Ikan assam pedas

Abby Lee's ikan assam pedas, the classic Malaysian hot and sour fish stew: mackerel poached in a fried chilli and lemongrass rempah with tamarind, aubergine, tomato and okra, with a note on the shrimp paste for Hanafi readers.

  • Cuisine Malaysian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 servings
  • Time 1h 15m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Four whole grilled fish on a steel tray with tomato wedges, carrot slices and orange peel
Photograph from our ingredient library: whole grilled fish, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Why Halal checks matter here

The fish is mackerel, which all schools accept, but the rempah has 6 g of belacan (shrimp paste), and many Hanafi authorities do not treat shrimp as fish.

A blended rempah of red onion, lemongrass, fresh and dried chillies, turmeric and shrimp paste is fried slowly in oil until it separates, then simmered with tamarind, aubergine, tomato, okra and Vietnamese coriander. Mackerel is poached gently in the sour, spicy broth just before serving. Fish is accepted by all schools; the one thing to check is the belacan, because many Hanafi authorities do not treat shrimp as fish. Leave it out if your school doesn't accept it.

It follows Abby Lee's recipe for Great British Chefs, which calls ikan assam pedas a classic Malaysian dish and serves four. The rempah needs about 20 minutes of steady frying before the oil separates, and the fish should poach with no bubbles breaking the surface.

Serve with rice, mint and coriander.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Belacan (shrimp paste) Shrimp is permitted by many scholars, especially in Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali practice, but many Hanafi authorities do not treat shrimp as fish. Use it if your school accepts shrimp; otherwise leave it out of the rempah. See Shrimp.

Safe substitutes

  • Belacan, if your school does not accept shrimp → Leave it out of the rempah

Allergens

fish, crustaceans (shrimp paste)

Ingredients

Rempah (spice paste)

  • 90 g red onion, roughly chopped
  • 80 g lemongrass, green tops removed about halfway, roughly chopped
  • 90 g red chillies, roughly chopped
  • 6 g belacan (shrimp paste), if your school accepts shrimp
  • 8 whole dried Kashmiri chillies
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric

Stew

  • 100 g vegetable oil
  • 20 g granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 140 g aubergine, in chunks
  • 500 ml water, or homemade fish stock
  • 1 plum tomato, halved
  • 50 g tamarind concentrate, ideally a Southeast Asian brand
  • 120 g okra, left whole
  • 30 g Vietnamese coriander, plus more to serve
  • 2 whole mackerel (or 4 × 140 g fillets; skate wing or sea bass also work)
  • to serve mint, to garnish

Method

  1. Make the rempah. Blend the rempah ingredients until smooth.
  2. Fry the rempah. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan over a medium heat and fry the rempah, stirring regularly, until the oil separates; this takes patience, around 20 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and let it caramelise for a couple of minutes.
  3. Simmer the vegetables. Add the aubergine, water or stock, tomato and tamarind and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the okra and Vietnamese coriander and simmer for 5 minutes more.
  4. Poach the fish. Turn the heat down to low so no bubbles break the surface, and gently poach the mackerel in the stew for 5 to 7 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily.
  5. Season and serve. Season with extra tamarind, salt and sugar if you like it more sour, salty or sweet. Serve with rice and extra mint and coriander.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from Great British Chefs' 'Ikan assam pedas (hot and sour fish stew)' by Abby Lee, which calls it a classic Malaysian dish (serves 4; easy; 1 hour 15 minutes in total. Rempah: 90 g roughly chopped red onion, 80 g lemongrass, 90 g red chillies, 6 g belacan (shrimp paste), 8 dried Kashmiri chillies and ½ tsp turmeric, blended smooth; fried in 100 g vegetable oil for about 20 minutes until the oil separates, then 20 g sugar and 1 tsp salt caramelised a couple of minutes. Stew: 140 g aubergine chunks, 500 ml water or homemade fish stock, a halved plum tomato and 50 g tamarind concentrate simmered 15 minutes; 120 g whole okra and 30 g Vietnamese coriander simmered 5 minutes; 2 whole mackerel or 4 × 140 g fillets (or skate wing or sea bass) poached 5 to 7 minutes over a low heat; seasoned with more tamarind, salt and sugar to taste and served with rice, mint and coriander). We flagged the belacan by school; nothing else needed changing. The source gives only the total time; we split it from the method into 50 minutes of cooking and 25 of preparation. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Ikan assam pedas (hot and sour fish stew) — Great British Chefs Retrieved:

    By Abby Lee, who runs the London restaurant Mambow; described as a classic Malaysian dish. Serves 4, easy, 1 hour 15 minutes in total: a red onion, lemongrass, chilli, belacan and turmeric rempah fried about 20 minutes; aubergine, tomato and tamarind simmered 15 minutes, okra and Vietnamese coriander 5 minutes; mackerel poached 5 to 7 minutes. We flagged the belacan by school.

  2. Shrimp analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Why scholars differ on shrimp.

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