Grilled Fish Recipe
A spiced Malaysian grilled fish.
Servings: 1 Fish
Calories: 229.4kcal
Ingredients
For The Sambal Belacan and Sliced Shallots Dipping Sauce
- 3 fresh red chilies deseeded
- 2 bird's eye chillies deseeded
- 1 Tbsp toasted belacan
- 2 Shallots thinly sliced
- 8 Tbsp water + tamarind pulp
- sugar to taste
- salt to taste
Fish
- 450 Gram fish fillet or whole fish
For The Sambal
- 170 Gram fresh red chilies deseeded and cut into small pieces
- 1 Tbsp toasted belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
- 140 Shallots
- 1/4 Tbsp Salt or to taste
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce or to taste
- 2.5 Tbsp sugar or to taste
- Juice from half a lime or one whole calamansi lime
- 2 Lemongrass cut into thin slices
- 1/4 Tbsp Turmeric powder
- 4 Tbsp Oil
Instructions
For The Sambal
- Grind the chilies, shallots, belacan and lemongrass in a food processor to get a well blended and smooth.
- Heat up a wok and stir-fry the sambal paste until aromatic or until the oil separates from the sambal paste.
- Add the seasonings: salt, sugar, and fish sauce and stir. Dish out and set aside.
For The Dipping Sauce
- Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes and extract the juice.
- Pound/blend the red chilies, bird’s eye chilies, and toasted belacan in a blender or a pestle and mortar.
- Add tamarind juice, sugar, salt, and sliced shallots to the sambal. Stir well and set aside.
Grilling the Fish
- Lay a few sheets of banana leaves and grease the surface of the banana leaves with some oil. Lay the fish fillet on top of the banana leaves and add about 2 – 3 tablespoons of sambal on top of the fish. Spread the sambal evenly.
- Place the fish on top of the grill (upper rack with indirect heat) and cover the grill. Wait for approximately 8 minutes (depending on the heat) and flip the fish over to the other side. Add 2 – 3 more tablespoons of sambal on the other side of the fish. Cook for another 8 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
- Transfer the fish and the banana leaves to the lower rack and grill for a couple of minutes with direct heat and cook until you smell the aroma of burnt banana leaves.
- Serve immediately with sambal belacan and sliced shallots dip.
