HEATHEN! HEATHEN! HEATHEN! AND BALLS!

Tzipporah (http://www.midianitemanna.blogspot.com/) has a posting about gefilte fish. In it, she advocates usage of certain good ingredients, and makes some worthwhile suggestions.
[See here: http://midianitemanna.blogspot.com/2007/04/good-gefilte-fish.html]


Alert readers (meaning people who don't need three double-shot espressos to read my blog) will remember that a while back I posted something about gefilte fish myself.
[See here: http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2006/08/as-american-as-gefilte-fish.html]


When making REAL gefilte fish, I will incorporate both Tzipporah's and Robbie's great aunt Sarah's approaches - all recipes are meant to be modified, and a written recipe is simply a road-map. It is perfectly okay to head off the beaten track into the bracken to smell the salmon-flavoured butterflies.


But I will now also confess to a completely heathen practice - I buy the bottles of gefilte fish in jellied broth.

There is nothing like them.

They are perfect for fish ball curry.

All that is needed to jack 'em up a bit are chilies, coconut milk, coriander, galangal, ginger, lemongrass, and turmeric. Plus cilantro and parsley.


The basic approach is to take the rice noodles and rinse them under cold water. Then place them in boiling water to cook. Meanwhile, haul the bottle of gefilte fish in jellied broth out of the fridge, remove one or two balls and their broth, and place them in a second sauce pan with the addition of half a cup of coconut milk (one can is about a cup and a half - if you are not going to use the remainder soon, which I can hardly imagine, store the can in the deepfreeze), a cup of water, plus a few slices of ginger, a stalk of lemon grass that you have whacked to bruise, plus the chilies and the spices.

I give no proportions for the chilies - you yourself know how much you need.

As regards spices, twice as much ground coriander as turmeric. And maybe as much dried galangal as turmeric. Or slightly more. Plus a pinch of cinnamon, or even mace. Do not overdo the spices, because you want the fresh ingredients (chilies, ginger and lemon grass) to dominate.
[It is just as valid to simply add a bit of a Thai curry paste (whichever kind of curry paste you prefer - it's going into your mouth, so you decide).]

Simmer the fish balls briefly. The rice noodles, when done, drained, and rinsed, are added to provide bulk, starch, and a textural contrast. Add some chopped cucumber, and squeeze a lime over. Garnish extremely liberally with cilantro and parsley.
[Use an excessive amount of cilantro and parsley - it is the vegetable in this dish, and very good for the digestion.]

Now go sit in front of the teevee and happily scarf it down while watching John Stewart read the news.

If you have timed it right, you can even make yourself a cup of strong cardamom tea before the show starts.