AI-generated image
Sambal stingray
Ikan pari bakar (辣椒魔鬼魚): stingray wing grilled on banana leaf under a thick, smoky sambal
Weekend evenings at the seafood stalls of Newton, Chomp Chomp and East Coast Lagoon smell of charring banana leaf, and the dish sending up that smoke is usually sambal stingray. A fan-shaped stingray wing is spread thickly with a dark red, slow-fried sambal of chillies, shallots, candlenuts and toasted shrimp paste, laid on banana leaf and cooked over high heat until the sweet, delicate flesh pulls cleanly off the soft cartilage in strands. It comes with calamansi or lime, raw sliced shallots and a little dish of sour chinchalok, and a plate of steamed rice. Underfrying the sambal is the classic error: until the oil splits away and turns red, the paste tastes raw and harsh. If you can't find stingray, skate wing is the best substitute and cooks the same way. Chef's tip: score the thick end of the wing and push sambal into the cuts, so the flavour gets right into the flesh.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the sambal
- 15 dried red chilliesseeded, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
- 3 fresh red chilliesroughly chopped
- 8 shallotspeeled
- 3 candlenutsor macadamia nuts
- 1 lemongrass stalktender lower part, sliced
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste (belacan)toasted in a dry pan until crumbly
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulpmixed with 4 tbsp warm water and strained
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or sugar
- 1 tsp salt
For the fish
- 1 ½ lb stingray wing1 large or 2 small pieces, skin on; or skate wing
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 pieces banana leavesabout 30 cm square, wiped and softened over a flame
To serve
- 4 calamansi or limehalved
- 2 shallots (optional)thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp chinchalok (fermented shrimp relish) (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (4)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Check 1 ½ lb stingray wing before you buy or cook it: it should smell clean, like the sea. Rays can turn quickly, so discard any piece that smells of ammonia. Rinse, pat dry and rub with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground turmeric; keep it in the fridge.
Step 2: Blend the drained 15 dried red chillies, 3 fresh red chillies, 8 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 3 candlenuts, 1 lemongrass stalk and 1 tbsp shrimp paste (belacan) to a smooth paste, adding a splash of water only if the blade sticks.
Step 3: Heat ½ cup neutral oil in a wok over a medium heat and add the paste. Fry, stirring and scraping, until it darkens to brick red, smells sweet rather than raw and the oil separates and pools at the edges.
15 minStep 4: Stir in 1 tbsp tamarind pulp, 1 tbsp palm sugar or sugar and 1 tsp salt and fry for 2 minutes more, until thick and glossy. Taste: it should be hot, sweet, sour and salty at once. Set aside half of the sambal for serving.
2 minStep 5: Score the thick part of each wing in a few places, almost to the cartilage, then spread the rest of the sambal over the top and push it into the cuts.
Step 6: Heat a large, heavy frying pan or griddle over a medium-high heat and lay 2 pieces banana leaves in it, shiny side up. Place the fish on the leaves, sambal side up.
2 minStep 7: Cover the pan with a lid or foil and cook for 10–14 minutes, depending on thickness, until the leaf chars underneath and the flesh is opaque all the way to the cartilage and flakes away easily in strands. For a smoky finish, slide it under a hot grill for the last 2 minutes.
14 minStep 8: Serve on the charred leaves, topped with the reserved sambal, with 4 calamansi or lime to squeeze over, 2 shallots and 2 tbsp chinchalok (fermented shrimp relish) on the side.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sambal stingray take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 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 shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek