with Water Mimosa

Fried Fish in Curry Sauce with Water Mimosa also known as Trey Boeng Kanhchaet ( ត្រីបឹងកញ្ជែត ) is a unique and delectable dish that Khmer-Cambodian love to serve for lunch or dinner with rice. The ingredients for making this tasty dish such as fish, red curry paste, sourness from tamarind paste or lime juice, coconut milk to add the creamy texture, sugar, salt, chicken soup powder, fish sauce, and last but not least water. The taste is salty, sweet, sour, and has a delicious creamy flavour from the coconut cream or milk. Adjust the taste to your preference.

• 1 large Tilapia
• 1 Basa Fillet
• 3 tablespoons Lemongrass Paste
• 3 tablespoons Tamarind Paste
• 1 package Water Mimosa
• 4-5 tablespoons Coconut Milk
• 3 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 3 tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Chicken Soup Base Mix
• 1/2 litre Water
• 3 cups Vegetables Oil (for frying the fish)
• 1/4 tsp Salt (optional – for frying fish)

1

First, let’s start with curry paste or red lemongrass paste.

Red Curry Paste: this curry paste is made in a large quantity so that we can save the rest for the other recipes such as Fermented Fish Dipping Sauce “Prohok Ktiss”, Chicken Curry Noodles, Beef Lemongrass Sour Soup, and so on. Blend all the ingredients until it becomes a smooth paste.

• 50g Lemongrass
• 30g Garlic
• 30g Shallot
• 20g Galangal
• 3 Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 10g Turmeric
• 3 tablespoon Chili Flakes
• 150ml Water

2

Tamarind Paste: it brings sourness to the curry sauce. For a quick mix, combine tamarind with hot boiling water and stir until the tamarind has completely melted. Some preferred the sourness of lime juice, so which one do you like better?

• 35g Tamarind
• 1/2 cup of Hot Boiling Water

3

Basa Fillet: In a medium pot, bring enough amount of water to a boil. Add in basa fillet, and reboil it, then simmer for about 2-3 minutes, and take it out. Let the fish cool down for a bit, then pound it but not too fine using a pestle and mortar. Transfer into a bowl, and set aside.

4

Curry Sauce: 

• 1/2 litre Water ( 500 ml )
• 3 tablespoons Lemongrass Paste
• 3 tablespoons Tamarind Paste
• 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Chicken Soup Base Mix
• 5-6 tablespoons Coconut Milk
• 1 Basa fillet

5

Tilapia Fish: should first be cleaned and thoroughly washed with water, then dry. Then score the fish and make several shallow cuts on both sides so that it cooks evenly. Or you can skip this step and move on to the next step is to pat dry the fish with paper towels.

Pan-fry until it reaches that beautiful crispy golden brown and carefully remove it from the hot oil, then place on a cooling rack to let the excess oil drip off before serving.

6

Water Mimosa: we only need the young stems, shoots, and leaves of Water Mimosa. Discard the hard part since they are tough to chew. Cut into 2 inches long or bite-sized pieces and rinse well with water, then drain.

7

Serving: Place the water mimosa on a serving plate, put the fried fish next, then cover the fish with some water mimosa, pour the curry sauce over the fish and water mimosa and serve with rice. Delicious! Enjoy!

Video