Red Tilapia in Sweet and Sour Plum Sauce

Tonight's dinner comprises of fried red Tilapia in sweet and sour plum sauce and "pecal" salad ( mixed vegetables in peanut sauce). (The bottom picture shows the pecal before it is mixed with the sauce)

Winter melon (kundur) was added with pieces of carrots to the plum sauce as recommended by the famous Malaysian chef, Chef Wan. Upon eating it, I thought putting slices of pineapple or unripe mangoes would also be as interesting and they would compliment the plum sauce. The vegetables in the pecal were boiled tapioca leaves ( from our backyard), long beans and bean sprouts added with cut cucumber. It was not a full pecal recipe as the salad was meant to be eaten with rice. Afif's orange drink added to the oomph of the meal.

Tomorrow we plan to prepare Thai paprik sauce with black Tilapia. We are having a freshwater fish feast as my husband is out of town. Freshwater fish is not in his cup of tea.

We bought the tilapia at Tesco's. They had removed the scales and gutted the fish. As with fresh water fish, we had to wash it in tamarind juice to remove any fishy smells, before adding salt and powdered turmeric. The Tilapia is then deep fried. I think Tilapia and catfish is best fried though I have eaten grilled Tilapia before with tamarind juice mixed with sliced fresh chillies, onions, lemon grass and kerisek (roasted coconut) and it tasted great.

To make the plum sauce, two onions, 2.5 cm ginger, 3 cloves garlic and some peppercorns are pounded before being lightly fried Some water is then added. The cubed winter melon is then dropped into the saucepan, followed by cubed carrots and a few dried Chinese plums. Half a bottle of plum sauce is then added.

When the vegetables are cooked, the plum sauce is poured onto the Tilapia in a dish. Some Chinese celery and fresh chillies are used to garnish the dish.