Cooking whole fish on the barbecue is one of the great joys of summer. For this simple Indonesian-inspired version, most of the prep is in the spicy sambal. Serve with steamed rice and a crunchy bean sprout salad.
Barbecued turmeric snapper with sambal matah
Australian Gourmet Traveller fast recipe for barbecued turmeric snapper with sambal matah.
- 20 mins preparation
- 10 mins cooking
- Serves 4
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Ingredients
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 baby snapper, skin slashed (about 750gm each)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 30 gm fresh turmeric, coarsely chopped
- For drizzling: grapeseed oil
Sambal matah
- 1 tsp belacan (see note)
- 4 red or golden shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
- 3 each red and green birdseye chillies, thinly sliced, or to taste
- 2 lemongrass stalks (white part only), thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Juice of 2 limes
Method
Main
- 1Heat barbecue to high heat. Pour lemon juice over fish, rubbing into cavities and incisions. Finely chop garlic and turmeric in a small food processor with 1 tsp sea salt, spread over fish and set aside.
- 2For sambal matah, enclose belacan in foil and roast on a barbecue or in a hot oven until pungent (2-3 minutes). Crumble into a bowl, add remaining ingredients, season to taste with salt and set aside.
- 3Wipe excess marinade from fish, drizzle with a little oil, then barbecue, turning occasionally, until cooked through (8-10 minutes). Serve hot with sambal matah.
Notes
Note Belacan is a shrimp paste available from Asian grocers.