Barramundi Meen Moilee
600g barramundi fillets, skin removed, cut into cubes 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 180g sliced red onion 2 sticks lemongrass, bruised 3 red birdseye chillies, bruised 25 fresh curry leaves, plus more to garnish (optional) 15g sliced ginger 200g fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges 600ml coconut cream 1 teaspoon powdered turmeric 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar Steamed basmati rice, for serving
Method Season the fish with a little salt and set aside. Heat oil in a large saucepan and stir-fry the onion, lemongrass, chillies, curry leaves and ginger over a medium flame, until the onions are soft. Add the tomato and cook for about 5 minutes. Next, add the coconut cream and turmeric, bring to the boil and lower the flame. If the mixture is too thick, thin with a little water. Add salt and sugar, then taste to check the seasoning. Gently add the fish pieces and poach in the coconut broth for just 6 minutes, until cooked through. Garnish with fresh curry leaves and serve immediately with basmati rice.
Jimmy says…
P
erhaps you could call me a mongrel. My parents are from China but I was born in Sri Lanka. They escaped during the Cultural Revolution and set up a restaurant in Sri Lanka before I was born. My father had that restaurant for 38 years. I virtually grew up in the kitchen. I peeled prawns for him, tonnes and tonnes of prawns. The prawn season would last for six months, so for six months of the year my fingers would smell of prawn. I can clean a prawn with my eyes closed! Before school and on weekends, my father used to take me to the fish market at five in the morning. I was a 15-year-old with zero incentive and motivation, but I found my little niche. There was this beautiful little cafe attached to the fish market and every morning, as soon as the mackerel arrived, they would cook it into this meen moilee curry. It was cooked over an open fire using firewood and I would just sit there in the morning, sleepy-eyed and staring at the embers and the glowing firewood. Then this beautiful smell would waft over. We would eat it with string hoppers [rice noddles]. Later on, we had it on our menu at my father’s restaurant. I’m a proud Australian citizen for the last 49 years. I’ve been in the Northern Territory for 29 years and have my own restaurant in Darwin called Hanuman. We have this dish on the menu. It’s an excellent curry for someone to break into the curry scene, even kids can handle it. You can use any firm white fish but our barramundi here is perfect. Of course, it’s got to be wild caught. But the most important component in this dish is the lemongrass from Humpty Doo, about an hour out of Darwin. And another important ingredient is the amazing curry leaves that grow everywhere because of the weather here. Food doesn’t require a visa; it jumps over borders very easily. I’m now 70 and still exploring. JIMMY SHU’S TASTE OF THE TERRITORY SCREENS ON SBS FOOD FROM 23 APRIL.
06–19 MAR 2020
Serves 4-6
41
Ingredients