 Hosted By
Ellice & Monty |
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Grilled Whole Fish with Lemon Basil and Chiles
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Serving Size -
4
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Prepared By -
Ellice & Monty
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Recipe Rating
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Printer Friendly Recipe
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1 ½ - 2 lb whole tilapia or red snapper, cleaned with head and tail intact, fins trimmed off |
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1 ½ Tbsp fresh lime juice |
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1 tsp tamarind pulp, plus 3 tbsp very warm filtered water to make an extract |
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1 thick stalk fresh lemongrass |
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2 shallots (1 ½ oz), coarsely chopped |
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1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped |
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6-10 fresh red Holland chiles coarsely chopped |
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½ inch piece fresh turmeric root, peeled and coarsely chopped |
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2 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced against the grain |
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5 candlenuts or unsalted macadamia nuts |
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3 Tbsp coarsely chopped ripe red tomato |
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1 Tbsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar |
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1 cup (1 oz) loosely packed fresh lemon, Thai basil or Italian Basil leaves |
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2 fresh or frozen banana leaves plus 1 extra leaf for making ties. |
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3 fresh or frozen duan pandan leaves tied in a knot |
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Score the skin of the fish (both sides) cutting on the diagonal at 1 inch intervals. This will allow the seasoning to penetrate flesh more effectively. Don’t cut more than 1/8 inch deep. Place fish in non-reactive bowl. Add lime juice and salt, rubbing it into the cavity as well as the scored skin. Set the fish aside to marinate, uncovered and unrefrigerated, while you prepare the flavoring paste. Turn fish a few times as it marinates to make sure that it is evenly coated with lime juice. Meanwhile, make the flavoring paste. Place the tamarind pulp in a small non-reactive bowl and mix it with the warm water. Let the pulp rest until it softens, 10-15 minutes. Squeeze and massage the softened pulp through your fingers, loosening the fruit’s auburn pulp from the shiny black seeds, brittle brown skin shards and sinewy bits of string. With you fingers, remove all the solid pieces from the liquid and discard them. All that will remain is a thick, caramel-colored extract. Set the tamarind extract aside. Cut off the hard, brown bottom and the bristly, greenish top of the lemongrass stalks, which should leave you with pale white-and-lilac pieces, about 5 inches long. Discard the 2 or 3 tough outer layers, and then cut the lemongrass pieces crosswise into slices ¼ inch thick Place the tamarind extract, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, chiles, turmeric, ginger, candlenuts/macadamia nuts, tomato, palm/brown sugar and salt in a small food processor. Pulse until you have a chunky-smooth paste, the consistency of cooked oatmeal. Make sure the lemongrass is well pulverized. Coarsely ground pieces will be unpleasant in the final dish. Transfer the paste to a non-reactive bowl and fold in the lemon basil leaves Make a banana-leaf parcel for the fish, a process similar to wrapping a rectangular box in gift paper. You want the fish to be securely wrapped so that it doesn’t leak while it steams. Place 2 banana leaves on top of each other so that they overlap by half. Place the fish and the lime juice marinade on top of the section where the leaves overlap. Smear one-third of the flavoring paste on the top of the fish, making sure your rub it into the score marks. Turn the fish over and smear the second side with another 1/3 of the paste. Place remaining 1/3 of the paste and the duan pandan leaves (if using) in the cavity. Carefully bring the top and bottom ends of the banana leaves together so that they meet above the fish. Hold the leaves together as you fold them over and under the bottom of the fish. Gently tuck the side ends completely under the fish to form a large rectangular package that fully encloses the fish. Be careful as you work, as the leaves can tear easily. Cut 3 or 4 ribbon-like strips from the remaining leaf and use the strips to secure the parcel, tying them around the parcel along its length at regular intervals. It’s fine if the parcel seems over wrapped. The steam will still penetrate. Alternatively, you can use aluminum foil. Tear a piece of foil twice the length of the fish. Place the fish lengthwise in the center of the foil. Fold the extra foil at the tail and head ends toward the center of the fish. Fold over the top and bottom sides, making sue that the entire fish is sealed in the foil. Fill wok or 4 qt Dutch oven or soup pot about half full with water. Place a steamer, wire rack or colander into the pot, making sure that the bottom of the steamer is at least 1 inch above the water line. Add more or less water as necessary. Place banana leaf parcel in the steamer. Place pot over high heat and bring water to a rolling boil. Cover and steam the fish for 35 minutes, making sure the water never touches the bottom of the steamer, which can make the fish soggy. Check water level every 10 minutes. After 35 minutes, carefully remove the parcel from steamer.
Choose the below process to finish off cooking the fish Grill: Prepare hot charcoal fire and want leafs as close to fire as possible. Grill until it is brown and slightly charred on the first side. Carefully turn over and continue grilling until the second side is brown and slightly charred, about 2-5 minutes longer. With aluminum foil, cooking time between 2-3 minutes. OR
Broiler: Preheat broiler. Position so parcel is 3-4 inches below het source. Line a half-sheet pan with aluminum foil and place the banana-leaf begins to develop brown patches (a few black spots are ok), about 4-7 minutes. Gently turn the parcel over and broil on the second side until brown patches appear, about 4-7 minutes longer. Transfer the parcel to a large serving plate. Open banana leaves carefully as brittle and cracked. Let fish stand for 15 minutes before serving. |
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