Singapore Style Barbecued Stingray ( Ikan Pari Panggang )

Many many years ago, my parents took me to Singapore for the first time. I was around 10 or 11 years old at that time. Because this is my First time ever to go outside Indonesia I still remember until now how thrill I was to be in this country. And my most memorable memory about Singaporean food is when we went to Newton Food Centre to eat seafood outdoor. I remember it so well until now that night we ate Barbecued Stingray ( Ikan Pari Panggang ), the sweet crunchy baby squids ( sotong goreng ), rojak with dried squid ( juhi? ), and the famous Singapore Chili Crab. Even until now I still wish I can go back there again and order those food all over again. There are more food picture from Newton that you can see in here.

Since I came home to Indonesia, I have been hunting for a fresh stingray and baby squids. So far I have no luck yet with the baby squids but one day when I walk into Carrefour , I saw this beautiful fresh and whole stingray. I asked the seller how much and he said Rp. 48.000 for this over 3 kg of fish ( more than 7 lbs ). It's somewhere around US $ 4 ! I called my maid slash my sous-chef if she knows how to handle a stingray and if she is up to it to cook this 3 kg of fish today and after quiet for 30 seconds she said yes, hahaha.... she is just like me, very curious to try new thing even though sometimes it ends disastrously ! But... we will still keep on trying...

To show you how the fish monger butcher the fish into more manageable pieces, I video tape it with my cellphone ( I forgot to bring my digital camera! ). The result is not too great but at least you can see how it's done.



But let me tell you what happen after I started to prepare this fish for the BBQ. I found out that I really need to take the skin off because stingray is actually one of a shark family so the skin is so thick, tough and so rough. Almost like a sandpaper. Even with my Shun knife ( a very sharp knife ), I still found it so hard to skin this fish! How I wish I can buy it skinned like in one of Asian grocery store that I used to go to in Portland, Oregon, USA. If I can buy a skinned stingray/skate, this job can be done in about half an hour maybe!



Singapore Style Barbecued Stingray ( Ikan Pari Panggang )

Ingredients:

1 kg ( 2 lbs ) stingray or any other firm white fish fillets, cut into 4 serving pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
2 large banana leaves, or aluminum foil ( 30cm/12 in square )
small limes, halved, to serve

Chili Sambal:

5 red finger-length chilies, deseeded and sliced
3 small chili, desseded and sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbs oil
1/2Tbs ketchup
1/2 Tbs dried prawns, soaked to soften, then drained
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 Tbs sugar
Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Methods:

1. To make the Chili Sambal, grind the chilies and garlic to a paste in a mortar or blender, adding a little oil if necessary to keep the blade turning. Heat the oil in a wok over low heat and stir-fry the ground paste, ketchup and dried prawns for 5 - 7 minutes. Add the lime juice, sugar, salt, and pepper, and stir-fry until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

2. Wash the stingray or fish fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Season with the salt, pepper and lime juice, and set aside to marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Soften the banana leaves by scalding them in boiling water in a tub or pot for 10 seconds. Drain the leaves and shake dry. Then spoon some Chili Sambal onto each banana leaves and shake dry. Then spoon some Chili Sambal onto each banana leaves ( or aluminum foil sheet ) and place 2 pieces of stingray or fish on each one. Spoon more Chili Sambal on the stingray or fish and rub it into the flesh. Fold both sides of the banana leaves ( or aluminum foil ) over to form a packet and fasten with toothpicks.


4. Grill over a low charcoal fire or under a grill for 5 minutes on each side. To serve, place the package on a plate and open. Serve hot with limes halves on the side.