Fish head curry

Tam West

A tasty sour Malaysian street food staple. If you're not so keen to pick around bones in your curry, pick the flesh from the heads once cooked and serve with the strained sauce, or use the cooked flesh to make fish cakes to serve with the sauce.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp	Red curry paste
1 Tbsp	Shrimp paste
1 small	Red chilli, use up to three depending upon heat
2	Garlic cloves
1 knob	Fresh ginger, small, and 1 small knob fresh turmeric (from some supermarkets and Asian stores)
1 stem	Lemongrass, use end only
1 tsp	Chopped fresh coriander
2	Limes, zest and juice
1 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
3	Spring onions, chopped
6	Curry branches, use leaves only
3	Kaffir lime leaves
2	Vine ripened tomatoes, finely chopped
3 Tbsp	Tamarind pulp
1 tsp	Sugar
2 cups	Fish stock (Main)
¼ cup	Coconut cream, optional
3	Fish heads (Main)
4 servings	Cooked rice, and extra fresh coriander

Directions

1. To a food processor add curry paste, shrimp paste, red chilli, garlic, fresh ginger and turmeric, lemongrass stem end, fresh coriander and the zest and juice of 2 limes. Blitz to a paste.
2. Heat olive oil, add chopped spring onions, the curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves, followed by the curry paste. Cook 5 minutes until fragrant. Add tomatoes, tamarind pulp and sugar and cook until thick. Add fish stock and simmer until flavours are combined. Add the coconut cream, if using.
3. Submerge the fish heads in the sauce. Cover and gently simmer until heads are fully cooked. You can also bake them, covered in sauce, in a moderate oven. Serve with rice and more fresh coriander.

Make it different

Add eggplant, okra or pumpkin to the sauce.

More of Warren's nose-to-tail fish recipes

• Grilled fish collar
• Fish stock
• Simple fish soup