DifficultyIntermediate

Fish sambal recipe is a tasty Malaysian dish cooked with sambal sauce which does not need any fancy ingredients.

Fish sambal recipe is simple and spicy, there’s nothing not to love about this Malaysian classic. If you prefer, you could use an oily fish, say mackerel or even tuna steaks for preparing fish sambal. In fish sambal recipe you don’t strictly need to remove the seeds from the chillies but bear in mind that if you don't the chilli-heat will dial up considerably. For fish sambal recipe, fresh fish is marinated with sambal or spice paste; it lends the fish grill with layers upon layers of complex and delicious flavours to fish sambal.

Yields1 Serving
Prep Time10 minsCook Time15 minsTotal Time25 mins
Ingredients
To Marinate the Fish:
For the Sambal Paste:
Sambal paste preparation:
1

Sambal starts with dried chillies which are soaked in hot water for 15 minutes.

2

Add the peeled pearl onions, garlic, ginger, soaked red chilli, sugar, turmeric powder, dried shrimps (if using), tamarind in a food processor and grind to form a coarse paste (sambal).

3

Add sambal to the hot oil in a pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until just fragrant, about 10 minutes.

4

Continue to cook the paste (sambal) on very low heat, until the solids begin to separate from the oil. Remove from the heat.

5

The sambal paste is used immediately or let cool, then refrigerated or frozen for future use.

Fish sambal preparation:
6

Fish sambal can be prepared with any kind of fish. First marinate the fish with salt and turmeric powder for 15 minutes.

7

In a pan, add oil to heat and once it's hot, add in the marinated fish and fry until it gets cooked well. Drain the fish and set aside.

8

In the same oil, which holds the flavours of the fish, add in the sliced onions and cook until it gets translucent in colour.

9

Add salt and the sambal paste. Stir until the raw smell goes away.

10

Stir occasionally as sambal may get burnt easily, sprinkle water if needed.

11

Once the sambal paste gets cooked, add in the chopped tomatoes and cook until the oil floats on top.

12

Next add in the fried fish and simmer for 2 minutes for the fish to absorb the flavours of sambal and turn to fish sambal.

13

Serve hot fish sambal with rice.

Ingredients

Ingredients
To Marinate the Fish:
For the Sambal Paste:

Directions

Sambal paste preparation:
1

Sambal starts with dried chillies which are soaked in hot water for 15 minutes.

2

Add the peeled pearl onions, garlic, ginger, soaked red chilli, sugar, turmeric powder, dried shrimps (if using), tamarind in a food processor and grind to form a coarse paste (sambal).

3

Add sambal to the hot oil in a pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until just fragrant, about 10 minutes.

4

Continue to cook the paste (sambal) on very low heat, until the solids begin to separate from the oil. Remove from the heat.

5

The sambal paste is used immediately or let cool, then refrigerated or frozen for future use.

Fish sambal preparation:
6

Fish sambal can be prepared with any kind of fish. First marinate the fish with salt and turmeric powder for 15 minutes.

7

In a pan, add oil to heat and once it's hot, add in the marinated fish and fry until it gets cooked well. Drain the fish and set aside.

8

In the same oil, which holds the flavours of the fish, add in the sliced onions and cook until it gets translucent in colour.

9

Add salt and the sambal paste. Stir until the raw smell goes away.

10

Stir occasionally as sambal may get burnt easily, sprinkle water if needed.

11

Once the sambal paste gets cooked, add in the chopped tomatoes and cook until the oil floats on top.

12

Next add in the fried fish and simmer for 2 minutes for the fish to absorb the flavours of sambal and turn to fish sambal.

13

Serve hot fish sambal with rice.

Fish Sambal Recipe