Note: This should /really/ be served with rice, but noodles are acceptable
2 cans of salmon or another fish (5 oz cans. Save any water from them. Use fresh fish if you have it) A big yellow onion or two (onion is the easiest way to stretch a recipe, and it tastes good too) 6 cloves of garlic 1 tsp chili oil 1 tsp sesame oil (to supplement if the chili oil isn't enough) 1 tbsp whole peppercorns (any colour. I used a blend of black, green, and red) 1 tsp white pepper powder 1 1/4 tsp ginger powder 1 1/4 tsp powdered cumin 1/4 tsp allspice A pinch of powdered chili pepper A pinch of powdered coriander seed A pinch of paprika A pinch of powdered celery seed A pinch of powdered cinnamon A pinch of sugar 1 tbsp fish sauce (more to taste; if adding more, reduce the amount of salt) 1 tbsp mirin/white wine/other light cooking alcohol (omit if you don't eat or drink alcohol) 2 tsp salt (add more or less to taste) 2 tbsp lemon juice (add more to taste) A dash of apple cider vinegar Stock or broth to cover (fish broth or some kind of bone broth is recommended, but use whatever you have)
Preheat the chili oil in a pot or saucepan (you will use the same pot for the entire cooking process). Brown the fish in the chili oil. At this point, the chili pepper that was in the oil bottle actually fell into the pot; I let it cook with the fish for a little bit before I fished it out to keep it from burning. If you have a buy'ce/generic helmet/other headgear you like for preventing onion tears, don it now. Slice the onion so you have half-rings. Crush the garlic cloves enough to help you remove the skin, but leave them otherwise intact. Add the onion, garlic, and peppercorns to the oil. If the chili oil doesn't cover all of the ingredients in the pot, add the sesame oil. Cook on high heat until everything in the pot is browned. Add all of the spices, sugar, fish sauce, cooking alcohol, salt, lemon juice, and vinegar. Stir to evenly coat the fish, onion, and garlic. If there was any water from the fish, add it to the pot. Cover everything in the pot with broth. Put a lid on the pot and bring it to a simmer. Keep the stew simmering on low heat for at least an hour so the flavours have time to develop and the broth has time to thicken just a little. Serve hot on any kind of grain. I had mine on rice noodles, then on rice grains. It would also be good on a millet porridge. If you have vegetables, extra fish, or any other toppings, I recommend seasoning them with a bit of citrus. To thicken the tiingilar, add some leftover grains (like day old rice), or a little bit of flour, depending on preference. When you reheat it, the grains will break down a bit and add some heartiness to the stew.