Preparation

To make the marinade, use a mortar and pestle to pound garlic, lemongrass, shallot, turmeric, salt and chilli flakes until a smooth paste forms.
Place eel, 1 tbsp olive oil and the marinade paste in a mixing bowl. Combine well and stand for 20 minutes, to marinate.
Heat a frying pan over medium-high and add remaining olive oil. Pan-fry eel, skin side down, for 2 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 1 minute. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce and saffron to pan and simmer for 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Return eels to pan and simmer for 1 minute.
Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with spring onion and pink peppercorns. Serve.

Ingredients

  • 500 g eel, boned, skin on, cut into 5 cm pieces
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
  • 125 ml (½ cup) coconut milk
  • ½ tbsp palm sugar
  • 30 ml fish sauce
  • pinch of saffron threads
  • 1 spring onion, sliced
  • 8 pink peppercorns, crushed
  • Marinade
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, diced
  • 2 French shallots, diced
  • 3 cm piece fresh turmeric, sliced
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of dried chili flakes