Malaysian Fish Curry demo by chef Clover

In my last post, I told you all about the fun I had and FOOD I ate at Nantwich Food Festival a couple of weeks ago. Although it was only a fleeting visit, I was lucky enough to get to see a full cookery demonstration.

The recipe? Malaysian fish curry. I couldn’t have been happier with Clover’s choice of recipe to show us. Inspired by my recent travels to Southeast Asia, and especially George Town, Malaysia… I’ve been keen to bring some of those flavours into my own kitchen. 

Tips and tricks from a pro

Like me, Clover hates food waste. She’s also an ambassador for ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ and throughout her demo, she kept giving little tips and tricks.

My favourite and one that I have since tried at home is to prolong the shelf life of herb packets. In an ideal world, we’d all be green-fingered enough to grow our own, but I am just getting to grips with keeping plants alive as opposed to killing them all. So sometimes supermarket packets are ideal. But they tend to go off before you can finish the entire bag, don’t you think?

Clover advised to take them out of the packaging and wrap them in dampened kitchen towel instead. So far it’s worked an absolute treat for me with basil, parsley and rosemary. And is so much better than freezing them, which I have never had any luck with as they go all watery and gross. Eww.

As Clover whizzed through the demo making the curry look super easy, she also showed us how to debone and fillet fish effectively. She even told us about the induction hob she was using (by Fisher and Paykel) and showed us inside the super-duper fridge which is designed to keep fresh ingredients separate and fresh for as long as possible!

The Taste Test: Malaysian fish curry

Everybody was glued to the presentation, but let’s face it, we were all just excited to taste the finished dish. It was nearing lunchtime, and for many people in the room, this would have been the first thing they’d eaten all day.

The smell was just incredible. The fragrance of the simmering coconut milk and spices filled the tent.  Once Clover was finished, we all lined up to take a bite; the bowl was steaming hot and looked incredible!

The verdict?

Simply amazing. One thing that Clover reiterated throughout her demo was that we always tend to over-cook fish and seafood. So she literally added it with three minutes to spare at the end of the recipe; as it will continue to cook whilst you dress the bowl and get it to the table anyway!

The seafood was cooked to perfection, still so succulent and juicy! The flavours from the garlic, ginger and fragrant spices were lush, too. It was made from start to finish within 25 minutes, so it’s a great dish you can cook for a mid-week dinner or for something different at the weekend.