Cambodian Fish Amok with Peak-Harvest Greens and Coconut Custard

Make the kroeung paste: pound the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, soaked chiles, garlic, shallots and turmeric in a heavy mortar, working one ingredient at a time until each is broken down before adding the next. Expect 15 to 20 minutes of steady pounding for a truly smooth paste.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds firm white fish fillets (snapper, catfish or cod), cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 stalks lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, finely sliced
• 2 inches fresh galangal, peeled and sliced
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, center ribs removed
• 6 dried red chiles, soaked in warm water 20 minutes and drained
• 6 garlic cloves and 3 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon shrimp paste (kapi)
• 1 3/4 cups full-fat coconut milk, plus 1/4 cup thick coconut cream for finishing
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 4 packed cups tender farmers-market greens (spinach, chard or amaranth leaves)
• Banana leaves or small heatproof bowls, for steaming

Instructions

1. Make the kroeung paste: pound the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, soaked chiles, garlic, shallots and turmeric in a heavy mortar, working one ingredient at a time until each is broken down before adding the next. Expect 15 to 20 minutes of steady pounding for a truly smooth paste.
2. Add the shrimp paste to the mortar and pound once more to combine. The finished kroeung should be dense, fragrant and the color of turmeric-stained clay.
3. Whisk the beaten eggs into 1 3/4 cups of the coconut milk until completely smooth, then whisk in the fish sauce and palm sugar until the sugar dissolves.
4. Stir 4 tablespoons of the kroeung paste into the coconut mixture. Taste — it should be assertively salty and aromatic, because the fish and greens will mute it considerably.
5. Fold the fish pieces into the coconut mixture and let them marinate for 15 minutes while you prepare the steamer and line four small bowls with softened banana leaf, or simply butter the bowls.
6. Divide the greens among the bowls, pressing them into the base as a bed, then spoon the fish and its coconut custard over the top, filling each bowl about three-quarters full.
7. Set the bowls in a steamer over gently simmering water, cover, and steam for 20 to 25 minutes. The custard is ready when it has set to a soft, barely wobbling firmness and the fish flakes at the touch of a fork.
8. Let the bowls rest off the heat for 5 minutes — the custard continues to firm up and settles into a silkier texture as it cools slightly.
9. Finish each with a spoonful of thick coconut cream, a sliver of fresh red chili and a fine chiffonade of kaffir lime leaf.
10. Amok is Cambodia's most celebrated dish, and what separates it from the curries of its neighbors is that it is not a curry at all but a steamed custard — the eggs and coconut milk set around the fish rather than surrounding it in sauce. The backbone is kroeung, the pounded lemongrass-galangal-turmeric paste that underpins much of Khmer cooking, and it rewards the mortar over the blender because pounding ruptures the fibers and releases oils a blade simply chops past. Traditionally the greens are nhor or noni leaves, faintly bitter and slightly medicinal, but at peak harvest any tender market green works beautifully and the dish loses none of its character. Serve it with plain jasmine rice and nothing else — amok is rich enough that it does not want competition.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 480 kcal
• Protein: 38g
• Fat: 31g
• Carbohydrates: 14g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 7g
• Sodium: 920mg