Grilled Sambal Fish with Banana Leaf (Ikan Bakar)

You haven't fully appreciated the beauty of Malaysian cuisine if you haven't tasted sambal.

Sambal can be a condiment, an ingredient or a dish which will always contain a large amount of chilis. Sambals are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Netherlands and in Suriname through Indonesian influence. It is typically made from a variety of peppers, although chili peppers are the most common. Sambal is used as a condiment and as an ingredient for a variety of dishes. It is sometimes a substitute for fresh chilis. It can be extremely spicy for the uninitiated. Some ready-made sambals are available at exotic food markets or gourmet departments in supermarkets in many countries. A sambal can also be a pungent dish of its own in which a large amount of chili peppers is used. Dishes called a sambal include sambal sotong (with cuttlefish), sambal udang kering (with dried prawns) and sambal lengkong (with ikan parang/wolf herring).

This recipe is without a doubt the best grilled sambal fish I have tasted so far. This is the 3rd time I have made it during a luncheon I have hosted with some of the Sydney food bloggers. You can read more about the party here:

Here Comes The Food - Almost Bourdain Blogwarming
Hungry.Digital.Elf - Malaysian & Dutch luncheon at Almost Bourdain
Raspberri Cupcakes - Almost Bourdain's Malaysian and Dutch Feast

Grilled Sambal Fish (Ikan Bakar) with Banana Leaf Recipe
(Adapted from Rasa Malaysia)

Ingredients

1 x 800 g / 1.8 lb red snapper (cleaned and scales removed)
A few sheets of banana leaf (rinsed with water thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels)

Sambal Paste:
6 oz. / 170 g fresh red chilies (seeded and cut into small pieces)
1 tablespoon toasted belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
4 oz. / 113 g shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar (or to taste)
1/2 lime (extract juice)
2 lemongrass (cut into thin slices)
4 tablespoons oil

Method

1. Prepare the sambal by grinding chilies, shallots, belacan and lemongrass in a food processor. Make sure the sambal paste is well blended and smooth.

   

2. Heat up a wok and stir-fry the sambal paste until aromatic or when the oil separates from the sambal paste. Add the seasonings: salt, sugar, line juice and fish sauce and do a quick stir, dish out and set aside.

   

3. Grease a flat pan (I use our barbie) and then lay a few sheets of banana leaves in the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on top of the banana leaves and spread the oil evenly. Lay the fish on top of the banana leaves and add half of the sambal paste on top of the fish.
4. Heat up the pan on your stove top over medium heat and cover it with a lid.
5. Wait for 8 minutes or so and flip the fish over to the other side. Add the other half of the sambal paste on the other side. Cook for another 8 minutes or so. By then, you can smell the sweet aroma of burnt banana leaves and grilled fish.
6. Dish out and serve immediately.

Note: Special thanks to Lorraine for sharing these beautifully taken pictures (Picture 1, 2 and 5).