Passport & Plate - Pepesan Ikan & Sambal Matah
Indonesia | Monday, February 23, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
Pepesan Ikan
Ingredients:
4 fillets of fish (1 fillet of fish per person). Use a fish you like, firmer fish such as tuna, kingfish, and trevally are good. Often mackerel is used.
1 lime or lemon
½ teaspoon salt
Large banana leaf sheets, 1 per serve, softened in hot water
Spice Paste:
1 Tbsp tamarind pulp
2 tablespoons warm water
3 red finger-length Thai chilies
2 Birdseye chilies
2-3 stalk lemongrass, thick bottom third only – the white part, outer layers discarded, inner part bruised and finely sliced
2 Tbsp. fresh peeled ginger
2 Tbsp. peeled galangal
2 med peeled shallots
4-6 cloves peeled garlic
5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts, dry roasted until golden
2 thumbs peeled turmeric or 1 Tsp ground turmeric
2 Tsp dried shrimp paste, dry roasted and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp. palm sugar
2 small ripe tomatoes
Few sprigs lemon basil/Salam leaves (kemanggi)
Sambal Matah
Ingredients:
4-6 med shallots, peeled and sliced in half length-way, then finely crosswise sliced
4 bird’s eye chilies thinly sliced
2-3 Thai chillies thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
5 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced & chopped
1 tsp roasted terasi (dried shrimp paste), finely grated
4 stalks lemon grass, only take the white and tender part, bruised and finely slice
1 inch piece of root ginger finely chopped
1 inch piece of Galangal finely grated
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Grated zest of 1 lime
1tbsp extra virgin coconut oil melted
How to prepare this recipePepesan Ikan:
Method:
1. To make the Spice Paste, soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 5 minutes, then mash well, squeeze and strain to obtain tamarind juice. Grind the chilies, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, shallots, garlic, candlenuts and turmeric with a mortar & pestle or in blender until smooth. Add the chopped tomato, tamarind juice, shrimp paste, salt, sugar and basil leaves mashing them through the paste.
2. Chop the fish fillets into cubes and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and squeeze juice of the lemon over leave for 1-2 minutes then mix in the spice paste.
3. Place handfuls of the fish on a piece of banana leaf ( 1 fillet would make 2 parcels). Add a leaf of Salam on top and roll up the banana leaf to enclose the fish and secure with ends with staples or toothpicks.
4. Half fill a wok with water and bring to a boil. Put the fish on a wire rack set in the wok well above the level of the water. Cover and steam until the fish is just cooked, about 15 minutes.
5. Place the fish, still in its banana leaf one rack over hot coals or on the BBQ or under a very hot grill and cook for 2-3 minutes each side. Serve in the banana leaf with wedges of lime, fresh tomato, steamed rice and Sambal Matah.
Sambal Matah:
Mix all ingredients together, leaving the coconut oil until the last. Make sure the ingredients have not been chilled otherwise the coconut oil will solidify.
The story behind this recipeOn a recent trip to Bali we were shown around by a Sumatran friend now living there. We ate street food, from markets, roadside cafes called Warungs and local restaurants. The Indonesian food was fabulous and I felt that we just did not have enough time to indulge. On our last night we asked our friend to take us to a restaurant that specialised in Balinese food and ended up discovering a family establishment, Made’s (pronounced Mardees) Warung. Being a lover of seafood I wanted to try the Balinese version of Pepesan Ikan. Pepes being the cooking method of steaming in leaves then char-grilling and Ikan meaning fish. I was warned by my friend and the insistent waitress that this dish would be very hot, but I love hot food so threw any caution to the wind.
When the parcel wrapped in Banana leaves arrived, it was like opening a present! I could just imagine sitting around an open fire with these parcels charring on a warm humid evening and being embraced by the wonderful aromas. I was salivating already. Once in my mouth even though it was very hot the chili did not take over from the flavours. The layers of spices and the subtleties of the dish were incredible and every mouthful resulted in new discoveries. Of course I had to go the whole hog in hotness and team the Pepesan Ikan with Sambal Matah, a raw style sambal made in Bali that I had discovered on an earlier eating expedition. The best way to describe the sambal is a quick kick in the mouth with the chili which cools very quickly as the lime, ginger, kaffir lime flavours start tingling on your tongue. It freshens, enlivens and wakes up all of your tastes buds.
Whenever I cook this dish at home the conversation turns to our trip and memories of the Bali.
