Indonesian Style Sea Bass

This Indonesian Style Sea Bass from top chef Peter Lloyd is beautiful. Its success lies in the creation of the paste that the fish is marinaded in. Grilling gives the fish a smokiness and the banana leaves ensure the fish remains succulent.

Ingredients

2 sea bass fillets scaled/pinned 170g each
1 banana leaf
2 kaffir lime leaves
½ Lemongrass Stalk
Coriander cress
Sea Salt
2 cocktail sticks

Pickle:

3 baby carrots, cleaned and halved
1 inch cucumber, deseeded and sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
1 green chilli, sliced
100ml rice vinegar
50g caster sugar

Yellow Paste:

3 long red chillies deseeded
1 plum tomato
50g shallot, peeled
50g garlic, peeled
25g ginger, peeled
50g candle nut, fried
50g lemongrass
25g galangal, peeled
20g turmeric, peeled
1tsp Tamarind Pulp
1 tsp Palm Sugar
2 tsp Salt

Sambal Matah:

75g shallot, finely sliced
50g lemongrass, finely sliced
10g Birds Eye chilli, sliced
1g shrimp paste
1 lime
25ml coconut oil
Salt

Method

Print Recipe

For the Pickle

Bring caster sugar and vinegar to the boil until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over prepared ingredients and leave overnight.

For the Yellow Paste

Blend all the ingredients together until it forms a smooth paste.

For the Sambal Matah

Combine all ingredients.

To Serve

Rub the spice paste over both sea bass fillets and sprinkle with sea salt.

Lay the first fillet skin-side down on the banana leaf. Place the kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass stalk on the fish and then add the second fillet on top, skin-side up.

Wrap the banana leaf around the fish and secure the ends with 2 cocktail sticks.

Grill the fish for 4 minutes then flip it over and grill for a further 4 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes for the fish to complete cooking.

Place the fish on the plate, cut open banana leaf and arrange the vegetable pickle on top of the fish. Finish with the coriander cress and a squeeze of lime juice.

Serve with Sambal Matah on the side.