Spicy Sardine Soup

There were three dishes my grandfather used to make that I vividly recall. When I close my eyes in reminiscence, I can almost taste those dishes as I see myself back when I was a young kid, bugging my grandpa for food on a rainy day.

The big three:
* Spicy Kampung fried rice
* Curry flavoured Maggi Mee with egg, which everyone knows how to make :p
* Spicy Sardine Soup, which I decided to attempt recently.

I never did ask what went into that magical brew such that even after more than 15 years, I still crave it.

All I can recall is the dominant sardine taste, the insane spiciness (after a few rounds, you learn the art of soup consumption without it touching your lips), and a sourish aftertaste which closely resembles tom yum.

With that as a reference point, I quickly drew up the ingredient line-up based on what I had in stock.

Ingredients:
* Sardines in tomato sauce, mashed into moderate sized chunks
* Onions, sliced
* tomatoes, cubed
* Chillies
* Lime
* Tom Yum Paste, half a teaspoon
* Assorted spices (rempah ratus), just a pinch
* Salt or Soy Sauce or Fish Sauce to taste

(The spices I used)

The cooking part was easy. Dumped everything into a pot of boiling water and let it simmer for 20 mins.

Served piping hot!

Spicy Sardine Soup.

Did not turn out exactly like my grandfather's dish, but it was still good. Went down very well with rice and a quick vege dish.

Some greens + chopped onions and garlic.

Boiled the greens in lightly salted water.

Fried the onions and garlic in oil, mixed in some oyster sauce and soya sauce, and poured over the cooked vege.

I got too carried away the the oyster sauce. :(

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P.S. It's been a day since I had the sardine soup, and now my pee smells of sardine :o
Now, I get that often with coffee. Yes, coffee... fine... but SARDINES????