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Spicy Grilled Fish - grilled fish wrapped with banana leaves with spice marinade and seasoning. The fish is so tender, moist, with intense aroma and flavors.
Summer Grilled Fish Recipes
It’s summer and let’s fire up the grill. This is a classic dish found in Malaysia.
Grilled fish is very popular in Malaysia. It’s called ikan panggang or ikan bakar and sold by street vendors or in restaurants.
This fish grill is usually wrapped with layers of banana leaves, marinated with spice-laden marinade called sambal (spice paste) and grilled over charcoal fire with other seafood such as grilled oysters.
This is probably one of the best grilled fish recipes ever, with juicy, tender, moist fish with complex flavors. The banana leaves impart intense aroma and earthy fragrance to the fish.
Grilled Fish Marinade
Fresh fish is marinated with sambal or spice paste; it lends the fish grill with layers upon layers of complex and delicious flavors.
The sambal consist of ingredients below:
- Fresh red chilies
- Shallots
- Lemongrass
- Belacan or Malaysian shrimp paste
- Sugar and salt as seasoning
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Grill Fish On Gas Grill
- Heat up the grill. When the heat hits 300 degrees Fahrenheit, place the fish and banana leaves on the rack or the side with no direct heat.
- Cover the lid to barbeque the fish with the circumventing hot air for about 5 minutes.
- Open the lid and flip the fish over to cook the other side. Add more sambal marinade or seasoning on the fish.
- Cover the lid to bbq the fish again until it is cooked through.
- Place the fish and the banana leaves on direct heat for 1 minute, or until the banana leaves start to burn. Remove the fish from heat and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stingray wings or skate wings are the best fish to grill.
You can also use white fish fillet such as sole fillet, Swai (Basa) or any flat fish.
You can use whole fish. If you have fresh whole fish such as red snapper, you can use the same marinade and seasoning to grill it.
This fish grill recipe is only 388 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
In Malaysia, this recipe is usually served with a condiment of sambal belacan with sliced shallots. I love the condiment as it adds an extra kick to this wonderful street food, found throughout Malaysia.
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Other Summer Grilling Recipes You Might Like
Spicy Grilled Fish
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500g) fish fillet , or whole fish (for example: red snapper)
Grilled Fish Sambal:
- 6 oz (170g) fresh red chilies, seeded and cut into small pieces
- 4 oz(120g) shallots
- 1 tablespoon toasted belacan, Malaysian shrimp paste
- 2 lemongrass , cut into thin slices
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce , to taste
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 lime , or 1 calamansi lime, extract the juice
Sambal Belacan and Sliced Shallots Condiment:
- tamarind pulp, ping pong ball size
- 8 tablespoons water
- 3 fresh red chilies, seeded
- 2 bird’s eye chilies, seeded
- 1 teaspoon toasted belacan
- sugar , to taste
- salt , to taste
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
Instructions
Grilled Fish Sambal:
- Prepare the sambal by grinding the chilies, shallots, belacan, and lemongrass in a food processor. Ensure the sambal paste is well blended and smooth.
- Heat a wok and add the oil. Stir-fry the sambal paste until aromatic, or until the oil separates from the paste. Add the seasonings—salt, fish sauce, and sugar—and stir quickly. Dish out and set aside.
Sambal Belacan and Sliced Shallots Condiment:
- Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes and extract the juice. In a mortar and pestle or food processor, pound or blend the red chilies, bird’s eye chilies, and toasted belacan. Add the 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 their surface with some oil. Place the fish fillet on top of the banana leaves and rub turmeric powder on both sides of the fish. Add about 2–3 tablespoons of sambal on top and spread it evenly. Drizzle lime juice over the fish.
- Place the fish on the upper rack of the grill, over indirect heat, and cover the grill. Wait for about 8 minutes (depending on the heat), then flip the fish over to the other side.
- Add 2–3 more tablespoons of sambal to the other side of the fish. Cook for another 8 minutes, or until the fish is fully cooked.
- Transfer the fish and banana leaves to the lower rack and grill for a couple of minutes over direct heat, or until you smell the sweet aroma of burnt banana leaves.
- Transfer the fish to a serving plate and serve immediately with sambal belacan and sliced shallot condiments.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
In your “Spicy Grilled Fish” recipe, you have listed the ingredients lime and turmeric. But in the INSTRUCTIONS section of the recipe, you never refer to lime or turmeric.
Where is lime and turmeric supposed to be used in the recipe?
Thanks!
Sorry for the omission. Recipe updated.
Good
Hi there, how would you cook the fish in the oven ?
Just grill in oven at 375F until cooked.
Hi! Is it possible to “grill” the wrapped fish in the oven?
Sure you can!
Hello please where can i get fresh banana leaves from in the US?
You can get it frozen at Asian stores.
Salam, I love how your recipe turned out! It has really great combination and taste! ? ?
Such a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Yummy grilled fish. I love it the spicy sambal.