Spicy Grilled Fish

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.

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.

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.

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Yield: 3 people

Spicy Grilled Fish

Print

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.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (0.4 kg) fish fillet or whole fish (for example: red snapper)

Grilled Fish Sambal:

• 6 oz. (170 g) fresh red chilies, seeded and cut into small pieces
• 4 oz. (115 g) 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:

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. Heat up a wok and add the oil. "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. 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. 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 rub the turmeric powder on both sides of the fish. Add about 2 - 3 tablespoons of sambal on top of the fish. Spread the sambal evenly. Drizzle the lime juice on the fish.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Transfer out and serve immediately with sambal belacan and sliced shallots condiment.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size

3 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 388Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 152mgSodium 798mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 3gSugar 13gProtein 39g