Cambodian fish hotpot

How to make Cambodian fish hotpot recipe

Serves 4

Preparation time 10 minutes, Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, halved and sliced
600 ml (1 pint) canned coconut milk
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 lemon grass stalk, chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves
3–6 red bird’s eye chillies, halved and seeds removed
300 ml (½ pint) fish stock
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon tomato purée
175 g (6 oz) live clams, cleaned 375 g (12 oz) raw peeled tiger prawns
125 g (4 oz) squid, cleaned and cut into rings
400 g (13 oz) can straw mushrooms, drained
20 holy basil leaves, optional

Method:
Heat the sesame and vegetable oils together in a large flameproof casserole, add the shallots and garlic and fry gently for 2 minutes or until softened but not browned.

Add the onion, coconut water, rice wine vinegar, lemon grass, lime leaves, chillies, stock and sugar to the casserole and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and add the tomatoes, fish sauce and tomato purée and cook for 5 minutes.

Discard any clams that don’t shut when tapped, then add them with the prawns, squid rings and mushrooms to the casserole and simmer gently for 5–6 minutes or until the prawns turn pink, the squid are cooked through and the clams have opened. Discard any clams that remain closed. Stir in the basil leaves if liked.

Serve the hotpot immediately with rice noodles.

For traditional fisherman’s stew, replace the sesame and vegetable oils with olive oil and fry the garlic and shallots as above. When adding the onion, replace the coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, lemon grass, lime leaves, chillies, stock and sugar with 2 x 400 g (13 oz) cans chopped tomatoes, 1 pinch saffron threads, 300 ml (½ pint) white wine and 600 g (1¼ lb) white fish fillets, skinned and cut into bite-sized chunks.

Continue as above, adding the tomatoes, fish sauce and tomato purée, then the prawns, squid rings, and mushrooms, but replace the basil leaves with chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread instead of the noodles, dipping sauce and fresh coriander.

Cambodian fish hotpot