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Ikan cencaru sumbat sambal [Recipe]

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Q: Ikan apa rasa panas tapi pakai jacket? 
A: Ikan cencaru sumbat sambal la tu! 

Here, we cooked a traditional Malay dish – ikan cencaru sumbat sambal (fried fish stuffed with sambal).

This dish can also be found in some Peranakan restaurants (although they tend to be really spicy!). 

Ikan cencaru (torpedo scad) is an affordable and common fish you can find in most local markets. The fish is also playfully known as ikan jacket (jacket fish)- as you can peel off its hard skin after it’s fried.

Another fish that is commonly used for this dish is ikan kembung (mackarel).

Cencaru stuffed with sambal is such a delectable dish! The dark flesh of the fish goes really well with the sweet and savoury sambal.

It’s easy to cook too! All we need to do is:- 
1. Cook sambal belacan (ours is really mild as Ming can’t take spicy food)
2. Clean fish and make slits along the dorsal fin and belly area. 
3. Rub fish with turmeric and salt, and stuff sambal into cavities!
4. Fry it! 

For this recipe, we cooked an extra portion of sambal to eat with rice and fish. Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Find more pictures and videos of this recipe and many more on our Instagram post here.

  • Sambal’s cooked!
  • Make two slits along dorsal fin on each side
  • Cut open belly area and remove internal organs
  • Wash fishes thoroughly, pat dry and rub with salt and turmeric powder
  • Stuff belacan generously into the cavities…
  • Don’t forget the belly
  • It’s fry time!
Ikan cencaru sumbat sambal [Recipe]
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Ikan cencaru sumbat sambal [Recipe]

Recipe by ThoKoh MakanCourse: Malay, Malay Recipes, Nyonya, Nyonya Recipes, Peranakan Recipes, RecipesCuisine: Malay, Peranakan, NyonyaDifficulty: Easy
Servings

3

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes

A delicious Malay dish of cooked sambal stuffed in fried ikan cencaru (torpedo scad).

Ingredients

  • 6 ikan cencaru (torpedo scad fishes)

  • 2 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp turmeric powder

  • Cooking oil

  • Sambal ingredients

  • 1 tsp pati asam jawa (tamarind puree)

  • 4 tsp sugar

  • 2 tsp salt 

  • 6 tbsp cooking oil

  • Blended ingredients

  • 5 dried chilies, soaked and seeds removed 

  • 5 fresh red chillies, seeds removed 

  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled

  • 6 shallots, peeled

  • 1 tbsp belacan, heated on pan without oil 

  • 1 tsp dried shrimps, soaked

  • 2 lemongrass stalks

  • 1-inch ginger

  • 1-inch turmeric

  • 1.2-inch galangal (optional)

  • 2 candlenuts (optional)

Directions

  • Make sambal
  • Blend all the “blended ingredients” in a food processor. Add a bit of water to aid the blending process if needed.
  • Heat up 6-8 tbsp of cooking oil in a wok. Over medium heat, add the blended ingredients and fry until fragrant, and oil has separated from paste (pecah minyak).
  • Add the asam jawa paste, salt and sugar to taste. 
  • Remove sambal from wok and allow it to cool down.
  • Prepare fish
  • Clean fish and make two slits on each side along the dorsal fins. Also cut open the “belly area” above the pelvic fins to remove internal organs. Clean fish thoroughly and pat dry.
  • Rub fish with salt and turmeric powder.
  • Stuff the sambal generously into the cavities along the dorsal fins and belly. 
  • Fry time!
  • Heat up cooking oil in wok and fry fish on both sides until cooked. 
  • Serve fish with white rice and additional cooked sambal as a side. 

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