Vegan Pindang Utara
Pindang (asam pedas) was one of those dishes that I loved asking my mum to cook for me when it was a cool rainy, day or when I wasn’t feeling the best. It was so comforting and just warmed up the soul.
Normally pindang is made with fish, as a substitute I’m going to use banana blossom. It has an incredible texture that is very similar to fish or even chicken. There are many variations of asam pedas in Malaysia but in this recipe, I'm showing you how to make the northern version. It's comforting, full of flavour and bonus points: it doesn't use a single drop of oil at all, yay!
Prepping the banana blossom takes a bit of time as it requires cleaning and soaking. But it’s totally worth it! We’re only using the core in this dish but the little flowers you get from the banana blossom tastes amazing deep fried into little fritters. The flavour is very similar to zucchini blossoms.
If you don’t have time to prep the banana blossom or have access to fresh banana blossom, you can just use the canned stuff. It’s just as good and you’ll be slurping hot pindang in no time!
This recipe is very easy, all you’re doing is boiling the ingredients together. Sounds great, right? Let’s jump right into the recipe and I’ll see you in the next one!
Have an amazing day!
Love,
Elliz
Vegan Pindang Utara (Asam Pedas)
Ingredients
Instructions
- If using canned banana blossom skip this step. For fresh banana blossom, peel the reddish purple leaves layer by layer.
- Each layer will reveal banana flowers. These banana flowers are edible but will not be used in this recipe. In order to cook with these banana flowers, you will need to discard the calyx and pistil from each flower as they are inedible.
- Peel all the reddish purple leaves until you find the yellow centre. This is what we will use for this dish.
- Cut the banana blossom core in half, and then quarters.
- The flowers and core will oxidize and turn brown once exposed to air, so it is necessary to soak it in an acidic solution to prevent browning.
- In a big bowl of water squeeze 1 whole lemon and 3 tablespoons of salt. The salt will minimise any bitterness and improve the flavour of the banana blossom.
- Soak all the flowers and core for at least 20 minutes up to an hour before use.
- In a pot or deep wok on medium high heat, add water. Then add ground ingredients, seaweed, lemongrass, galangal, banana blossom, okra and asam keping.
- Bring everything to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Lastly season the pindang with mushroom seasoning, salt and add the Vietnamese coriander (daun kesum). For extra flavour, add kombu shitake powder and MSG (optional). Taste and adjust accordingly.
- Once the banana blossom is tender, and the okra cooked through it is ready to serve.
