Fried Mackerel with Sambal (Sambal Ikan)

Fried Fish with sambal or sambal ikan is a very popular Malay dish in Malaysia. There are many variations of sambal sauce, with a range of hot chilli pepper used as primary ingredients and other secondary ingredients including spices, garlic, ginger, shallot, onion, spring onion (scallion), sugar, lime juice, lemon juice, shrimp paste (called belacan in Malay) and rice vinegars or other types of vinegars. All these varieties of sambal sauce are normally served as hot and spicy condiments for Malay dishes like fried fish (ikan goreng), grilled fish (ikan bakar) and fried chicken (ayam goreng).

Conventionally, sambal sauces are made with the use of a mortar and ingredients are pounded with the pestle. Freshly prepared sambal sauces are either served cooked or fresh. Sambal sauces are also used as a spice paste for fried rice or fried noodles and cooking and braising meat, seafood or vegetables. Nowadays, there are also many brands and varieties of pre-prepared sambal sauces readily available in Asian groceries stores and supermarkets. For my gluten free recipe, ingredients used include long fresh red chillies, small dried red chillies, garlic, onions, onion shallots, ginger, assam (tamarind) paste and spices like paprika, turmeric and curry leaves. My gluten free sambal sauce is served as a hot and spicy condiment alongside pan fried mackerel cutlets. You can also serve the sambal chilli sauce on top of the pan fried Mackerel if preferred. This gluten free recipe is also soy free, dairy free, nut free and egg free.

Fried Mackerel with Sambal (Sambal Ikan)

A very popular Malaysian dish, simple and delicious fried mackerel served with an aromatic hot and spicy chilli sauce.

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Cuisine: Malaysian

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 948.09kcal

Author: Daphne Goh

Ingredients

• Rice bran oil for pan frying
• 1 kg 2.2Ib Spanish mackerel cutlets (preferably tail part)
• Gluten free corn maize flour for coating the mackerel
• Steamed rice to serve

For the Spice Paste:

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small brown onion cut into wedges
• 5 long fresh red chillies deseeded and cut into 3cm pieces
• 12 small dried red chillies deseeded
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the Sambal Chilli Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 French onion shallots
• 2 medium brown onions thinly sliced into rings
• 3 cm ginger peeled and finely grated
• 12 curry leaves
• 5 tablespoons tamarind puree or tamarind paste
• 3 tablespoons stevia or raw brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 100 ml water

For the Marinade:

• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon pale or medium dry sherry

Instructions

For the spice paste:

• Add the ingredients for the spice paste into a food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle if preferred.

For the sambal chilli sauce:

• Heat up the non-stick frying pan with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil on medium to high heat. Pan fry the garlic, shallots, onion and ginger on low to medium heat until the garlic are lightly golden and onion are caramelised.
• Then add in the spice paste, curry leaves, tamarind paste or puree, sugar and salt and pan fry for 3 minutes on medium heat until the spice paste is aromatic. Add in the water and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove and set aside in a bowl. Clean wok with kitchen paper towel.

For cooking the mackerel:

• Marinade the mackerel cutlets with the marinade prepared. Rub and mix well into the mackerel cutlets.
• Lightly coat the mackerel cutlets with gluten free corn (maize) flour, shake off excess.
• Heat up a non-stick frying pan with some rice bran oil and pan fry the mackerel cutlets for 3 minutes on each side or until mackerel are golden brown. Pan fry in 3 to 4 batches, adding more rice bran oil as needed.
• Pre-heat fan forced oven to 160C or 320F. Place the mackerel cutlets in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake the mackerel cutlets for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mackerel pieces are well browned.
• Serve with sambal chilli sauce and steamed rice.

Notes

Allergen: Fish.

Nutrition Facts

Fried Mackerel with Sambal (Sambal Ikan)

Amount per Serving

Calories

948.09

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

77.83

g

120

%

Saturated Fat

 

15.64

g

98

%

Trans Fat

 

0

g

Cholesterol

 

126.67

mg

42

%

Sodium

 

1043.42

mg

45

%

Carbohydrates

 

29.5

g

10

%

Fiber

 

4.17

g

17

%

Sugar

 

16.23

g

18

%

Protein

 

35.84

g

72

%

Vitamin A

 

14.3

IU

0

%

Vitamin C

 

178.55

mg

216

%

Calcium

 

7.92

mg

1

%

Iron

 

19.25

mg

107

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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