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A hand holding a spoon that wants to grab a mackerel from the baking dish. The oven dish is black on the outside. Some peppers in the background

Pepesan Ikan - Indonesian Spicy Mackerel

Andréa
Pepesan Ikan is Indonesian style spicy mackerel cooked in a delicious spicy flavor mixture (called bumbu). The flavors of the bumbu penetrate into the fish, giving it a lot of flavors and making it nice and tender. And this recipe is super easy to prepare yourself. Delicious for the next Asian Buffet! 
5 of 6 votes
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Dinner
Cuisine indonesian
Servings 4 persons
Calories 379 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

  • 4 shallots quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic halved
  • ¼ teaspoon shrimp paste
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons chili paste
  • 3 candlenuts
  • 2 djeroek purut leaves lime leaves (cut the veins out of the leaves)
  • 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce like kecap manis
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 1 oz. creamed coconut
  • ¼ cup hot water
  • 2 tomatoes in small cubes
  • 2 teaspoons palm sugar
  • 2 stalks lemongrass bruised
  • 1 pound smoked mackerel fillets boneless

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F / 180°C.
  • Add the shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, salt, turmeric, lemon juice, chili paste, candlenuts, djeroek purut leaves and sweet soy sauce.
    4 shallots, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon shrimp paste, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric, ½ tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons chili paste, 3 candlenuts, 2 djeroek purut leaves, 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
  • Pulse into a coarse paste: the bumbu.
  • Heat two tablespoons of oil in the frying pan and fry the bumbu for two minutes on medium heat.
    2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • Dissolve the creamed coconut in the hot water and pour it into the pan.
    1 oz. creamed coconut, ¼ cup hot water
  • Add the diced tomatoes and palm sugar. Place the lemongrass on top and bring everything to a boil.
    2 tomatoes, 2 teaspoons palm sugar, 2 stalks lemongrass
  • Simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Spread half of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
  • Place the mackerel fillets on top. Make sure they are in one layer as much as possible.
    1 pound smoked mackerel fillets
  • Spoon the rest of the sauce over the mackerel and cover all the mackerel with it.
  • Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (this way the fish will steam until done) and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
  • Eat right away or let cool to room temperature. Delicious with white rice, cucumber and green beans.

NOTES

1. Bumbu -
 To make the bumbu in step 1, use a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, mash it in a mortar or chop everything as finely as possible.
We fry the bumbu in the skillet, so that all the flavors are released.
 2. Candlenuts -
Often used in Indonesian cuisine and you buy them in the Asian Supermarket. It makes the sauces thicker. A candlenut is greasy, tastes nutty bitter. If you can't gain them, you can replace them with macadamias (it thickens the sauce, but the taste is slightly different).
3. Shrimp paste -
A shrimp paste that is widely used in Indonesian cuisine is called trassi. You can replace it with 2 teaspoons of miso or 2 teaspoons of fish sauce (but the taste will be a little different).
 4. Shallot -
 The spicy sister of the onion. This is widely used in Indonesian cuisine as a base (along with garlic and ginger). You can also replace it with an onion (large).
 5. Palm Sugar -
 Palm sugar is extracted from the palm tree. It has a caramel-like slightly salty taste. You can replace it with dark brown caster sugar (although the real palm sugar has a much more intense taste).
6. Creamed coconut -
 Made from the grated flesh of the coconut, which is mixed with water. Solid cream coconut consists of 70 % fat (in comparison coconut milk contains 17 %). It is concentrated and therefore ideal for use in the kitchen. This way you can decide for yourself how much you dilute the coconut (and how much coconut flavor you want to keep).
 7. Lemongrass -
Has a light soft lemon flavor. By bruising the lemongrass and then stewing it, it gives off a very subtle taste to the sauce.
 8. Storage -
  • Refrigerator - You can keep the Pepesan Ikan covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
  • Frozen - Allow the Indian spicy mackerel to cool quickly and wrap in aluminum foil and pack in an airtight freezer box or bag and freeze. This keeps it good for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator.
  • Reheating - Heat the fish in the aluminum foil and warm in a skillet.
9. Nutritional Value -
 The nutritional values shown are per person.
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