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Fish, South and Southeast Asian

Ikan bakar with rice

Ikan bakar is a whole sea bream coated in sambal, then grilled in the oven or on the barbecue, served with white rice and a sweet soy sauce with lime. This recipe serves 4, takes 50 minutes, has a medium difficulty level, and costs about €5.00 per person. The key is reducing the sambal well and letting the crust caramelize at the end of cooking.

Tonight, ikan bakar, the Malaysian grilled fish coated in sambal, with white rice and a sweet soy sauce.

Ikan bakar with rice
Total time
50 min
Difficulty
Medium
Cost per person
€5.00
Calories per person
510 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Summer, Spring

Ikan bakar is the grilled fish you find at night markets across Indonesia and Malaysia, traditionally wrapped in banana leaf. Here, a whole sea bream soaks up a chili sambal, brightened with tomato and warmed with ginger, before grilling until the edges turn slightly caramelized and crisp.

This is a dish for a night when you have a bit of time on your hands, ideal for a spring or summer dinner when you want something different. White rice soaks up the pan juices and the lime infused sweet soy sauce, and the result impresses without requiring any special equipment.

The ingredients

4 people

Fish counter

  • Whole sea bream 2

Fruits and vegetables

  • Fresh red chilies 4
  • Shallots 3
  • Garlic 4 cloves
  • Fresh ginger 2 tsp
  • Tomato 1
  • Lime 2

Pantry

  • Sweet soy sauceoften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Sugaroften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Sunflower oiloften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Long grain riceoften in the pantry 300 g
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Allergens Gluten, Fish, Soy

The step by step recipe

  1. Blend the chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger, and tomato with a bit of oil, salt, and the sugar to make the sambal.

    Seed the chilies if you want a milder paste.

  2. Cook the sambal in a pan with the remaining oil until the oil separates out. 10 min

    Stir often so the sugar in the paste doesn't burn.

  3. Score the sides of the sea bream and coat them generously with sambal, then wrap them in parchment paper or foil.

    If you don't have banana leaf, parchment paper works just as well.

  4. Bake at 200°C or grill on the barbecue. 25 min

    Open the paper for the last five minutes to let the crust char.

  5. Cook the rice in water, drain it, and serve the fish with the sweet soy sauce mixed with lime juice. 12 min

    Kicap manis can be replaced with regular soy sauce and a touch of sugar.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick sea bream that's truly fresh, with clear eyes and firm flesh. The sambal can't save fish that's past its best.
  • Let the sambal cook until the oil rises to the surface. That's the sign the flavors have concentrated and the paste won't release extra water onto the fish.
  • Score the sides of the fish deeply, down to the bone, so the sambal flavors the flesh all the way through, not just the skin.

The variations

  • Swap the sea bream for mackerel or sea bass, two whole fish that hold up well when cooked wrapped in paper.
  • For a vegetarian version, coat thick eggplant slices in the same sambal and grill them instead of the fish.
  • For a quicker version, use fish fillets instead of whole fish, cutting the cooking time to about 10 minutes.

What to serve it with

  • Fresh cucumber slices
  • Shrimp crackers
  • Iced lime tea

Storage

Cooked fish keeps for 1 day in the fridge in a sealed container, ikan bakar loses texture quickly. The rice keeps separately for 2 to 3 days. Reheat gently in the oven or a skillet rather than the microwave to avoid drying out the flesh.

Questions about this dish

Can you make the sambal ahead of time?

Yes, the sambal can be made a day ahead and kept in a sealed jar in the fridge. Just warm it slightly before coating the fish so it spreads easily.

How do you know when the sea bream is cooked?

The flesh should pull away easily from the bone and turn opaque all the way through. For a whole sea bream, 25 minutes in a 200 degree oven is usually enough.

Can you substitute the sweet soy sauce?

Yes, if you don't have kicap manis, mix regular soy sauce with a touch of sugar until it dissolves. The flavor is very close and the texture stays syrupy.

Is this dish good for kids?

The sambal is spicy, so this dish isn't suitable as is for kids sensitive to heat. You can set aside a portion of fish without sambal, just grilled with a bit of oil.

How long does it take to make an ikan bakar with rice?

Count 50 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “medium”.

How many calories are in an ikan bakar with rice?

About 510 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does an ikan bakar with rice cost?

About €5.00 per serving, or €20.00 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, fish, soy. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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