Ingredients: Serves 4-6

250 grams king mackerel fillet, cut into dice and chilled in the fridge

1 cup thick coconut milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons red curry paste

150 grams shredded cabbage

¼ cup sweet basil leaves

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 ½ teaspoons palm sugar

Finely sliced kaffir lime leaves, sliced red spur chilies, and coriander leaves, to garnish

7-8 Banana leaf cups

Coconut topping:

¼ cup coconut milk

1 ½ teaspoons rice flour

¼ teaspoon sea salt

To make the coconut cream topping:

Poor  ¼ cup of the coconut milk into a small pot, add rice flour and stir until dissolved. Simmer over low heat, stirring regularly. When the coconut milk starts bubbling, keep stirring until the mixture reaches the desirable thickness. Then, remove from the heat, and set aside as the topping.

Method:

1. Cut the fish fillet into small square dices
2. Add the curry paste to ½ cup of coconut milk in a mixing bowl, add the fish and stir well. Break in an egg and season to taste with fish sauce and palm sugar. Add the remaining coconut milk a little at a time while stirring until all the coconut milk is used up. Stir until the mixture well combine. Then add basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves. Gently toss well.
3. Line the cups with cabbage and basil leaves, fill each cup full with the mixture, and steam over boiling water on high heat for 15 minutes. Remove the steamer from the heat, top each cup with a spoon of the prepared coconut cream, scatter coriander leaves, kaffir lime leaves, and shredded red spur chili on top, then return to the heat. Continue steaming for 1-2 minutes, remove from the steamer.

For the curry paste (make ½ cup)

½ tablespoon whole peppercorn, roasted

7 dried red spur chilies, seeded, cut into small pieces, soaked to soften, drained and squeezed

5 dried small hot chilies, seeded, soaked to soften, drained and squeezed

1 ½  teaspoons galangal, finely chopped

2 tablespoons lemongrass, thinly diced

1 coriander root, finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped kaffir lime zest

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic

1 ½ coarsely chopped fingerroot or Chinese’s ginger

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon shrimp paste

½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. To make the curry paste, grind the black peppercorns using a stone mortar and pestle. Spoon into a bowl and set aside.
2. Pound the red spur, hot chilies, and salt to fine paste. Add, one by one, kaffir lime zest, galangal, lemongrass and fingerroot, grinding each until smooth before going to the next. Put in the garlic and shallots, pounding to blend well.
3. Add the shrimp paste and ground pepper. Pound the whole mixture to smooth paste.

Note:

To make the banana leaf cups, wipe each side of the leaves clean.

Cut into circles, using a 4-inch round bowl as a guide. Invert the bowl on the leaf and cut around the edge of the bowl with the pointed end of a sharp knife. Make 14-16 circles.

Lay two circles on top of each other, with the shinning green-side out and cross the leaf ribs to prevent tearing.

Make a puckered fold about 1-inch deep and secure with toothpick. Continue with the second fold at a diagonal point of the circle. Finally, finish two more folds in-between the first two.

Steaming the mixture in banana leaf cup give uniquely pleasant aroma, or you can use small ceramic cups instead and adjust cooking time accordingly.