VISIT OUR SISTER SITE: EASY WEEKNIGHT
RECIPE BOX: LOGIN / REGISTER

Rasa Malaysia: Easy Delicious Recipes

Rasa Malaysia: Easy Delicious Recipes

  • Recipes
  • Chinese Food
  • Ingredients
  • Giveaways
FacebookPinterestInstagramTwitterYoutubeEmailRSS
Browse Recipes
  • Select Category
    • American Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Chinese Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Asian Recipes
    • Thai Recipes
    • Japanese Recipes
    • Korean Recipes
    • Malaysian Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • More
  • Select Ingredient
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Shrimp
    • Salmon
    • Potatoes
    • Vegetables
    • More
You are here:Home / Recipes / Malaysian Recipes / Spicy Grilled Fish

Spicy Grilled Fish

Jump To Recipe
Recipe Index

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.

Grilled fish ready to serve.

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.

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.

Other Summer Grilling Recipes You Might Like

  • Garlic Herb Grilled Salmon
  • Grilled Chicken Thighs
  • Grilled Corn

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

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.

Fish grill with spicy marinade.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Type of Fish is Best to Grill??

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.

Can I Grill Whole 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.

How Many Calories Per Serving?

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.

Easy, healthy and the best grilled fish recipe topped with sambal, ready to serve.

Pairs well with:

Asian BBQ Wings

Grilled Shrimp Kebab

Lemon Butter Grilled Zucchini

Easy Chicken Kebab

5 Secrets to 20 Min Dinners
Get tricks for quick & easy meals!
    REGISTER TO SAVE RECIPE »
    Print
    Leave a review 🡢

    Spicy Grilled Fish Recipe

    Servings 3 people
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 5 minutes
    Total Time 20 minutes

    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.

    Calories 388 kcal
    Author Bee | Rasa Malaysia

    Ingredients

    Ingredients:

    • 1 lb fish fillet or whole fish (for example: red snapper)

    Grilled Fish Sambal:

    • 6 oz fresh red chilies, seeded and cut into small pieces
    • 4 oz shallots
    • 1 tablespoon toasted belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
    • 2 lemongrass cut into thin slices
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
    • 2 teaspoons fish sauce to taste
    • 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
    • 1/2 lime or 1 calamansi lime, extract the juice
    • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
    • 4 tablespoons oil

    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
    Click Here for Conversion Tool

    Directions

    Grilled Fish Sambal:

    1. 1
      Prepare the sambal by grinding chilies, shallots, belacan and lemongrass in a food processor. Make sure the sambal paste is well blended and smooth.
    2. 2

      Heat up a wok and “tumis” (stir-fry) the sambal paste until aromatic or when the oil separates from the sambal paste. Add the seasonings: salt, fish sauce and sugar and do a quick stirs, dish out and set aside.

    Sambal Belacan and Sliced Shallots Condiment:

    1. 1

      Soak the tamarind pulp with the water for 15 minutes and extract the juice. In a mortar and pestle or food processor, pound/blend the red chilies, bird’s eye chilies and toasted belacan. Add tamarind juice, sugar, salt, and sliced shallots to the sambal. Stir well and set aside.

    Grilling the Fish:

    1. 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. Place the fish on top of the grill (upper rack with indirect heat) and cover the grill. Wait for 8 minutes or so (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, or when you smell the sweet aroma of burnt banana leaves. Transfer out and serve immediately with sambal belacan and sliced shallots condiment.
    Nutrition Facts
    Spicy Grilled Fish Recipe
    Amount Per Serving (3 people)
    Calories 388 Calories from Fat 198
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 22g34%
    Saturated Fat 16g100%
    Cholesterol 152mg51%
    Sodium 798mg35%
    Potassium 990mg28%
    Carbohydrates 23g8%
    Fiber 3g13%
    Sugar 13g14%
    Protein 39g78%
    Vitamin A 970IU19%
    Vitamin C 150.5mg182%
    Calcium 76mg8%
    Iron 3.4mg19%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Course: Main Dish
    Cuisine: Malaysian
    Keyword: Grilled Fish
    Love this Recipe? Try More »

    Latest Recipes:

    Naan

    Baked Cod

    Butter Cookies

    Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

    Easy Weeknight New Recipes:

    Shrimp Scampi

    Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti

    Creamy Garlic Butter Chicken

    Spaghetti Carbonara

    Pin4K
    Share1K
    Tweet
    5K Shares
    If you try my recipe. please share it on social media using
    hashtag #rasamalaysia on so I can see your creations!
    Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter
    for more new recipes, giveaways and more.
    JOIN RASA MALAYSIA INSIDERS ON FACEBOOK

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    38 COMMENTS... read them below or add one

    1. Kiva

      June 13, 2019 at 10:02 PM

      Reply

      5 stars
      Yummy grilled fish. I love it the spicy sambal.

    author image

    Hello from Bee

    Welcome! Check out my Recipe Index, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and sign up for FREE email newsletter.

    Popular Recipes

    Chicken Recipes
    Salmon Recipes
    Instant Pot Recipes
    Potatoes Recipes
    As Seen On ...

    Get Cooking

    • Easy Asian Takeout
    • Recipe Gallery
    • Ingredients Guide
    • Weekly Meal Plans
    • Penang Tour
    • Conversion Tool

    Information

    • About
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
    • Giveaway Rules
    • Giveaway Winners
    • Contact

    Follow Me

    • RSS Feed
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Youtube
    • Twitter

    GET FREE RECIPES VIA EMAIL:

      FacebookPinterestInstagramTwitterYoutubeEmailRSS
      author image

      Rasa Malaysia © 2006-2019 Bee Interactive Corp.

      No part of the content (digital photographs, recipes, articles, etc.) or this site may be reproduced without prior written permission. Rasa Malaysia contains affiliate links and sponsored posts. Can't spell Rasa Malaysia? Try easydelicious.recipes.