FISH KOFTA CURRY (NGA SOKE LONE HIN)

This very simple Burmese recipe is just delicious. I have made it for many years, and it always turns out great. I only used 1/2 a teaspoon of chilli (not the 1 1/2 teaspoons from recipe!!) .... and still found it a bit too hot for my liking. I use any kind of white fish available to make the koftas. This time I added about 300 g of prawn meat to the mince. I replaced the anchovy sauce with fish sauce and used a mixture of olive and sesame oil. Also, I used a tin of chopped tomatoes instead of the fresh ones. If you have good fish stock available, use it instead of the water. It gives more flavour to the sauce. 😀 From 'The complete Asian Cookbook'.

INGREDIENTS:

Fish koftas

1 kg fish fillets

2 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, crushed

1 1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

2 slices white bread, soaked in hot water and squeezed dry

1 tsp anchovy paste or sauce, optional

Curry

1/4 cup sesame oil

3 medium onions, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger

1 tsp ground turmeric

1-2 tsp chilli powder, optional

1 tsp paprika, optional

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried shrimp paste (ngapi) 

1 1/2 cups hot water or fish stock

2 Tbsp tomato kasoundi (optional)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves

2 Tbsp lemon juice

METHOD

With a sharp knife remove skin from fish. Finely mince fish taking care to remove bones. (To do this without a mincer, cut fillets in thin slices lengthways, then chop finely across). Put minced fish in a large bowl, add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly with the hands. Shape the mixture into walnut size balls or koftas (this quantity should make 24 balls).

I used a food processor to mince the fish fillets, together with the rest of the ingredients, to make the koftas. I find that if I wet my hands a bit, the mince doesn't stick to my hands as much. The koftas should be the size of a walnut. Try to make them earlier and leave them covered in the fridge for about 30 minutes or more before adding them to the sauce.

Curry: Heat oil in large frying pan and fry onion, garlic and ginger until soft and golden. Add turmeric, remove from heat and add chilli powder and paprika (if used), tomato and salt. (In Burmese cooking the amount of chilli used would be enough to give a red colour to the gravy, but the paprika is suggested here as a substitute for a portion of it, with chilli used to suit individual tastes.)

Wrap dried shrimp paste in aluminium foil and cook under the griller for a few minutes on each side. Unwrap, dissolve in the water and add to the gravy. Cook gravy until tomato is soft and pulpy. Add the tomato kasoundi if using. If gravy seems too reduced, add a little hot water. There should be enough gravy to almost cover the fish koftas. 

Gently put the fish koftas in the gravy and simmer over a moderate heat until they are cooked, about 20 minutes. Shake pan gently from time to time. Do not stir until fish is cooked and firm or the koftas might break.

Stir in the chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice and cook 5 minutes longer.

Serve with white rice and Balachaung (optional).

Sometimes, if I don't have the time to prepare the koftas, I make the curry and then put fish fillets cut into bite size pieces directly in the sauce and let them simmer for about 5 minutes or until cooked. Mullet (not my favourite fish) is one type of fish that goes well with this recipe.