If there is one Nyonya dish that I wish I could make in the United States but couldn’t, this rempah fish or fried fish stuffed with sambal would probably be it.
Why? Because a true and authentic Nyonya rempah fish (‘Hu Chee Rempah” in Penang Hokkien) can only be made with hardtail mackerel, a fish that is not available in the waters here. If you don’t have hardtail mackerel (or “Ngeh Buey” in Hokkien), you simply don’t make rempah fish because other fish will do no justice to this dish and will not deliver the essence, texture, and authentic flavor. Yes, Nyonya will not compromise when it comes to ingredients used in Nyonya food…
So words can’t even begin to recite how I’ve missed my late mother’s rempah fish, a recipe she had perfected. Her rempah fish was always sublime, with aromatic and moist sambal plus perfect balance of flavors, and let’s not forget about the charred sambal paste oozing out of the fish. But consider ourselves lucky, my sister-in-law did cook side-by-side with my mother and helped her make rempah fish on countless occasions. I asked her to recreate the dish for this blog and she nailed it.
Here is our recipe for rempah fish—a Penang Nyonya specialty that is well-loved by many Peranakan/Nyonya-Baba families. If you go to Penang, you might find it at economy rice stalls if you are lucky!
Ingredients:
2 hardtail mackerel (ikan cincaru)
Spice Paste:
3 fresh red chilies
5 dried chilies
10-12 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp belacan
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tablespoon tamarind pulp, soak in 1/4 cup water, extract juice and discard pulps
1/4 cup oil
Method:
1. Clean and rinse fish with water. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep slit from the back of the fish along the bone. Repeat the same on the other side of the fish.
2. Blend the spice paste with a mini food processor or use mortar and pestle to pound the flavoring paste.
3. Heat up wok with 3 tbsp oil, add in spice paste and stir-fry with low heat until aromatic. Add tamarind juice and continue to stir-fry until the spice paste is smooth and somewhat moist, but not overly runny. Season to taste with salt and sugar. Dish out and let cool.
3. Stuff the spice paste into the fish on both sides of the slit and also inside the fish stomach.
4. Heat up 1/4 cup oil in a wok, deep fry the fish until cooked. Serve immediately.
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
My hubby is m’sian and he loves this dish a lot!!! The ones we hv here in s’pore are usually with the fish selar or ikan kembong. :) Tks for sharing.
Ash – Yes, I have certainly seen this recipe with selar or ikan kembong because hardtail mackerel is not easy to get. But I tell you, the taste is different with different types of fish. I am a Nyonya food snob, hahaha.
this is the best ever fish!!! love ur website :)
Yes, best ever fish!
can we use diff kind of fish instead of mackeral? striped bass or snapper? thank you
Well, of course you can, but true Nyonya only uses hardtail mackerel. In fact, hardtail mackerel is used mostly for this recipe. The fish tastes so great with the sambal.
I am also a hardcore Nyonya from Penang who will not compromise on ingredients! This is beautiful!! Absolutely love this dish which Grandma used to make when I was younger =)
Yes, yes, me too. If cannot find the right ingredients, then I rather don’t make the dish. LOL!
Ikan cencaru is really hard to find even in the morning wet markets in Singapore. I can only find it when I am back in Malacca. This is the best fish for this ‘cili sumbat’ recipe. Yummy!
Yes, I know they are getting harder to find, maybe overfished?
You can easily get Ikan Cencaru at the Geylang Serai Market or the wet markets in Bedok Reservoir or Bedok south. Also carrid by Shing siong supermarket.
BTW my mum usually add buah keras and some basil and kunyit leaves sliced finely. Really sedap Malay version.
Will try your Nyonya version
Thanks for sharing
ram
Ramlah – Ooooh, your Malay version sounds sedap sekali. Can you share the recipe?
I absolutely love this fish! Thanks for sharing… it looks lovely!
I am glad you love this rempah fish recipe.
Can I just say how droolworthy this is! I am going to get myself some fresh fish soon and make this. So good!
Good luck Cyn.
Haven’t had this fish for a long time! One of my favorites and I totally agree with you on the “hardtail mackerel”. I can’t get it in Vancouver too! Guess, I have to go back KL soon ;)
Well, we can’t get our kind of fish here in the US. The frozen ones from Asia look totally stale. :(
Bee, you have just sparked a thought in my mind. Should brace myself to learn this somehow complicated dish (at least to my humble cooking skill) when grandma and mum can still be around to teach and supervise! Will feel extremely bad if this Nyonya specialty is lost in “my” generation.
Alright, wish me luck!! ^_^
Amy – good luck. I hope you keep the Nyonya tradition alive.
This looks so good! I can never find ikan cencaru here in Northern California. Any ideas where I may get those? Striped bass or snapper may just do…
Well, I don’t think we can get the fish in the US. That’s why I don’t make rempah fish here. :(
This dish rocks!! Once you’ve tasted a good one, you’ll always want it again :)
Hoyden, yes, you are absolutely right.
for the benefit of singaporeans reading this blog, you can still get this hardtailed mackerel in tekka market. it does make a huge difference on the choice of fish used. again, i must say some folks don’t really care for the dryer texture of this hardtailed mackerel. it is a taste i grew up with, just like the Nyonya of this blog…..so i will not settle for anything else too.
Teng – glad that you think the same. Without the fish, there is no rempah fish. :P
I love your Rasa M’sia. I missed all the m’sian food. I have been away for almost 30yrs. I always go on the web-site just to read the food and the pictures.
Anne – thanks for being a fan on Nyonya Food, too.
Being away 20 years,i tried using other types of fish, this is one dish i love but i cannot get this fish in the Netherlands and i once brought this fish all the way from M’sia.Its true other fishes do not give you the right taste as this hardtail Mackerel.
Yes, have to use hardtail mackerel.
My mom would also add black bean paste to the sambal,,
That’s interesting to use black beans.
Stumbled upon your site today and am simply in AWE. Please judge me as one of your most devoted fans henceforth.
Best Regards.
Hi Peter, thanks for your kind word!!! :)
What camera do you use to take your beautiful food shots?
This was shot with a Canon 350D or Canon Digital Rebel XT.
Great recipe…..and great website.
Could you please tell me what becalan is? Is there another name for it? Is it available in Asian stores in the US?
Sorry..I meant belacan
Belacan is Malaysian shrimp paste. You can get it at http://asiansupermarket365.com. Yes, they are available in some Asian stores.
Hi
Enjoy reading your blog and viewing your beautiful food photos. They will make anyone want to try the receipe. Just by reading your ikan sambal receipe and looking at the picture I can just taste the dish in my mouth that’s how good your picture is. My mum’s ikan sambal receipe is slightly varied in that we add buah keras, daun kunyit and daun limau that were slice finely and also minus the sugar. The rempah we did not cook first we just filled the rempah inside the fish and used corn flour to cover the openings and then fry the fish. And of course you are right Only ikan Cencaru makes the best ikan rempah.
Thanks for the recipe. I was just thinking of making this for our “spicy group” gathering this weekend. My friends from Singapore & Malaysia gather once in a while to do our “home cooking”. This is also one of my favorite Nonya dishes. I think I can find this fish at our local Asian grocery stores. Yummy, yummy. Thanks for the memories too! My Mom would used the black pomfret (“or chnya”) when ngeh buey is not available.
I don’t like the texture and taste of black pomfret, I think ngeh buey is the best with this recipe. :)
oh man i love this dish -just like mum used to make. I walked all around chinatown in NYC looking for the fish but no joy :(
There is no hardtail mackerel in the US!! Sucks!
Oh my god i miss this dish!!!!!! I don’t trust myself to be able to make it, so I guess i have to get home to Malaysia and get my mum to make it. And AmyS is right, we younger ones need to learn how to cook all these specialties or they will be lost. Between my sister and I, we might be able to cover the whole range of Nyonya dishes :p
My mom used to make the spicy paste into big prawns and it’s so incredibly good. I have to start making dishes like this again. yes, no such mackerel fish in NYC chinatown!!! bummer
Gosh I miss this dish.. looking at your blogs always make me hungry and miss home. Am still a frequent visitor ..
I know how you feel about missing home…