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Malaysian Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish) Recipe

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When it comes to grilling seafood, especially fish, there is hardly a recipe better than the ones found in tropical lands. One such exotic grilled fish recipe being the Indonesian Ikan Bakar, which is fish fillet smothered in a fiery spice paste, sambal, covered in a banana leaf and cooked on a charcoal fire. Needless to say, this Malay classic cannot be missed. Follow the recipe below to try out this smoky grilled fish tonight.

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Malaysian Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish) Recipe
A spiced Malaysian grilled fish.
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Cuisine Malaysian
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
fish
MetricUS Imperial
Ingredients
For The Sambal Belacan and Sliced Shallots Dipping Sauce
For The Sambal
Cuisine Malaysian
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
fish
MetricUS Imperial
Ingredients
For The Sambal Belacan and Sliced Shallots Dipping Sauce
For The Sambal
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
For The Sambal
  1. Grind the chilies, shallots, belacan and lemongrass in a food processor to get a well blended and smooth.
  2. Heat up a wok and stir-fry the sambal paste until aromatic or until the oil separates from the sambal paste.
  3. Add the seasonings: salt, sugar, and fish sauce and stir. Dish out and set aside.
For The Dipping Sauce
  1. Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes and extract the juice.
  2. Pound/blend the red chilies, bird’s eye chilies, and toasted belacan in a blender or a pestle and mortar.
  3. Add tamarind juice, sugar, salt, and sliced shallots to the sambal. Stir well and set aside.
Grilling the Fish
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Serve immediately with sambal belacan and sliced shallots dip.

Binge eater by day and binge watcher by night, Ankita is fluent in food, film, and Internet. When she’s not obsessing over the hottest trends, tacos, and the perfect author’s bio, you can find her under a pile of Jeffery Archer’s novels or looking for the nearest wine shop.