AI-generated image
Ikan bakar
Grilled fish with sambal
Ikan bakar — whole fish smeared with sambal and grilled in banana leaf
Night markets and seaside stalls from Port Dickson to Kuantan announce ikan bakar by smell long before you see the charcoal: whole fish or stingray wings smeared with red sambal, laid on banana leaf and grilled until the leaf blackens and the paste caramelises onto the flesh. The leaf keeps the fish moist and lends a faint tea-like smokiness, while the sambal brings shrimp-paste depth, tamarind sourness and steady heat. It is eaten with the fingers, with plain rice, cucumber and a sharp dip called air asam made from tamarind, chillies and shallots. Chef's tip: score the fish right down to the bone so the sambal seeps into the cuts and the thickest part cooks at the same pace as the tail.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fish
- 2 whole fish (sea bream, snapper or pomfret)about 600 g each, scaled and gutted
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 banana leaveslarge pieces, wiped clean; or foil
- 1 limecut into wedges
For the sambal
- 15 dried red chilliessoaked in boiling water 15 min, drained
- 6 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks lemongrasswhite part only, sliced
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (belacan)toasted
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulpsoaked in 60 ml warm water and strained
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the air asam dip
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulpsoaked in 100 ml warm water and strained
- 4 bird's eye chilliesthinly sliced
- ½ red onionvery finely chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tomato (optional)small, diced
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (7)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Rinse and pat the 2 whole fish (sea bream, snapper or pomfret) dry inside and out. Cut 3 deep diagonal slashes on each side, down to the bone, then rub with 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground turmeric. Keep in the fridge while you make the sambal.
5 minStep 2: Blend the 15 dried red chillies, 6 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, 2 stalks lemongrass and 1 tsp shrimp paste (belacan) to a paste with a splash of water.
Step 3: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a small pan over a medium heat and fry the paste for 8 minutes, stirring, until dark red and the oil separates. Add the strained 1 tbsp tamarind pulp and 1 tbsp sugar and cook 2 minutes more to a thick, spreadable sambal. Let it cool slightly.
10 minStep 4: Stir the strained 1 tbsp tamarind pulp with 4 bird's eye chillies, ½ red onion, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt and the tomato if using. Set aside so the onion softens.
Step 5: Heat a charcoal grill, gas barbecue or ridged grill pan to a medium-high heat. Soften the 2 banana leaves by passing them briefly over the flame until they turn glossy and bendable.
Step 6: Spread the sambal over both sides of each fish, pushing it into the slashes. Lay each fish on a banana leaf and fold the leaf loosely over the top.
Step 7: Grill for 8–10 minutes, then flip the parcels and grill 8–10 minutes more, until the leaf is charred in patches. A common mistake is to grill the bare fish on high heat: the sambal burns black long before the middle is cooked, so keep the leaf between fish and fire.
18 minStep 8: Open a parcel and check the thickest part next to the head: the flesh should be white, opaque and flake easily from the bone (145°F/145 °F). If it still looks glassy, close it and grill 3–4 minutes more.
Step 9: Serve the fish on its leaf with 1 lime wedges, the air asam dip and steamed rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 12 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ikan bakar take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Singapore chilli crab
Chilli crab was first sold from a pushcart on the Kallang river in the 1950s and is now the dish visitors queue for along Singapore's East Coast seafood strip. Big mud crabs are cut up, wok-fried and simmered in a thick, sweet, tangy and gently hot sauce of chilli, tomato and garlic, which is then silked with beaten egg. Everyone eats with their hands and mops up the sauce with fried or steamed mantou buns. It is a weekend or celebration meal, messy and loud. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is boiling the sauce after adding the egg, which scrambles it into lumps; pour it in a thin stream over a low heat. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to clean and quarter the crab for you, and crack each claw lightly with the back of a cleaver so the sauce soaks in.
Singaporean
LaksamRice noodles in coconut fish gravy
Kota Bharu's morning market has its own noodle: laksam, thick sheets of steamed rice batter rolled up like little carpets and sliced into wheels. They are drowned in a pale, creamy gravy of pounded fish and coconut milk, then heaped with raw herbs and vegetables (ulam): cucumber, long beans, bean sprouts, daun kesum and torch ginger flower, with a spoonful of fiery chilli and budu, the region's fermented anchovy sauce. The result is soft and slippery, rich and cool at the same time. Locals eat it for breakfast or as a mid-morning snack. Chef's tip: pound the cooked fish with the shallots instead of blending it smooth; the gravy should feel faintly textured, like a thin porridge.
ChraimeFish in spicy garlic paprika sauce
Friday night in Moroccan and Libyan Jewish homes, from Casablanca to Tripoli and now Paris and Tel Aviv, often begins with a plate of chraime before the main course. Thick fish steaks simmer in a brick-red sauce built from a frightening amount of garlic, sweet and hot paprika, chilli, caraway and cumin, loosened with oil and a squeeze of lemon. It is spicy, garlicky and very savoury, and the oily sauce begs to be mopped up with challah or other good bread. It is also eaten cold the next day. Chef's tip: cook the spices in the oil over a low heat until they smell toasty but not dark; burnt paprika tastes acrid and you cannot rescue it.
Moroccan