Easy Ikan Masak Merah Recipe

Ikan Masak Merah (Fish in Spicy Red Sauce) is a popular Malay dish which is spicy and sweet at the same time.

The fish are first deep-fried to a golden brown then slowly simmered in a spicy homemade chillie sauce.

Recipe for Ikan Masak Merah

Ingredients for frying fish:

• 1 fish, huge black pomfret (discard the belly veins and wash it clean)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Oil for frying
• 2 pinch of salt

Blend this items:

• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ inch ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass (medium size)

Ikan Masak Merah Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons chilli paste
• 1 tablespoon chilli sauce
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1 red chilli (cut lengthwise 2)
• 1 green chilli (cut lengthwise 2)
• 1 tomato (cut into quarters)
• 1 large onion (diced or circles)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice
• Salt to taste

Garnishing for Ikan Masak Merah:

• Sring onions (cut to small pieces)
• Coriander leaves

Method:

1. First, rub the fish with turmeric powder and salt evenly. Brown the promfret in the hot oil until golden on all sides till crispy. Remove it from the skillet and set aside.
2. While waiting for the crispy fried fish, blend onions, garlic, ginger & lemon grass in a blender to a paste.
3. Remove excess oil from the skillet, leaving about 2 tablespoon. Cook and stir the blended item, chili paste, chili sauce, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves & star anise until fragrant (about 5 mins).
4. Reduce heat to medium, add tomato wedges and sliced red and green chillies, lime juice, sugar and salt to taste. Stir the sauce about 1 minute and turn off the heat.

Plating:

Place fish in a bowl and pour sauce over the pomfret. Garnish it with spring onions and coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain rice!