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East Timor Ikan Pepes (Fish in Curry Sauce)
Course
Main Dish
Cuisine
East Timor
Prep Time
15
minutes
minutes
Cook Time
26
minutes
minutes
Total Time
41
minutes
minutes
Servings
4
Author
International Cuisine
Ingredients
2
lb
whole fresh Red Snapper or similar fish
Banana leaves
For Curry paste
1
Tablespoon
tamarind pulp
soaked 5 minutes.
2
Tablespoons
warm water
6-10
large chili’s
chopped (use whatever chili you like, I used fresno’s and it was quite spicy but delicious)
1
stem lemongrass
only the inner part of the bottom 10 cm, thinly sliced
5
candlenuts
macadamia nuts can be substituted
1
small
ripe tomato
1/2
teaspoon
ground turmeric
1/2
teaspoon
dried shrimp paste
1
Tablespoon
finely chopped palm sugar
brown sugar can be substituted
1/2
cup
loosely packed basil leaves
For fish pre marinade:
1
lime sliced in half
1
teaspoon
salt
Instructions
Score the fish several times and marinate it with salt and lime rubbed into the surface.
Grind all of the curry ingredients in a processor till they are smooth (about 2 minutes)
Rinse the banana leaves and place about 1/3 of the curry in the bottom of the sheet of banana leaf.
Rub about 1/3 of the curry into the belly of the fish.
Ladle the remaining 1/3 of the curry over the fish and seal up the “packet”.
Use soaked string as necessary to seal the packet.
Steam for 20 minutes in a bamboo steamer
I would highly recommend using a fish grill plate as the fish will be tender and fall apart easily
Grill for an additional 6 minutes
Unwrap the packet and serve over rice with chopped basil.