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How to cook Sambal stingray

Sambal stingray is a Singapore hawker favourite of stingray wings topped with a thick, spicy-sweet-sour sambal and cooked until the edges caramelise. This home version bakes the fish in a banana-leaf parcel in a hot oven and uses a blended chilli paste with belacan, finished with lime and sambal-topped charred edges.

Ingredients

For the fish

• 800 g stingray wing, cleaned and cut into 2 or 3 portions (ask the fishmonger to skin and cut it)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 piece (about 40 x 30 cm) banana leaf, or use baking paper
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

For the sambal paste (to blend)

• 15 g (about 12 pieces) dried chillies, snipped and soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, then drained
• 4 fresh red chillies, roughly chopped (deseed for less heat)
• 6 shallots, peeled
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 cm piece fresh turmeric or 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 cm piece galangal, peeled
• 1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, sliced
• 1 tsp (about 5 g) belacan (shrimp paste), toasted in a dry pan until fragrant
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp (hae bee), soaked 10 minutes and drained

For cooking the sambal

• 4 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste mixed with 60 ml warm water, strained
• 1 tbsp sugar (add more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp light soy sauce

To serve

• 2 to 3 limes, cut into wedges
• 1 small cucumber, sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
• as needed steamed white rice

Steps

1. Prepare the fish15 min
   Pat the stingray dry with paper towels. Rub with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp lime juice and leave to sit while you prepare the sambal, about 15 minutes.
2. Soften the banana leaf2 min
   Pass the banana leaf briefly over a gas flame or dip in very hot water for 10 to 15 seconds until it turns glossy and pliable. Wipe dry. This stops it from cracking when folded.
3. Blend the sambal paste4 min
   Place all the ingredients under 'For the sambal paste' in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding 2 to 3 tbsp water only if the blades stall. The paste should be thick, not runny.
4. Fry the sambal10 min
   Heat 4 tbsp oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat. Add the blended paste and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the paste darkens, smells cooked rather than raw, and the oil separates and pools at the edges.
5. Season the sambal3 min
   Stir in the strained tamarind liquid, sugar, salt, lime juice and light soy sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes until thick and jammy. Taste and adjust: it should be hot, tangy and slightly sweet. Remove from heat.
6. Preheat the oven10 min
   Set the oven to 220 C (top and bottom heat) and place the rack in the upper third. Preheat for at least 10 minutes so it is fully hot.
7. Dress the fish3 min
   Lay the banana leaf on a baking tray and brush lightly with 2 tbsp oil. Place the stingray on top and spread about two thirds of the sambal thickly over the upper side of the fish, covering it fully.
8. Wrap the parcel3 min
   Fold the banana leaf up and over the fish to form a loose parcel and secure with toothpicks, leaving a small opening at the top for steam to escape. If using baking paper, wrap loosely and crimp the edges.
9. Bake the fish18 min
   Bake at 220 C for 15 to 18 minutes. The fish is done when the thickest part turns opaque and the flesh flakes easily from the cartilage when pressed with a fork.
10. Char the top4 min
    Open the parcel and spoon over the remaining sambal. Return to the oven and grill (broil) on high for 3 to 4 minutes until the sambal bubbles and the edges darken slightly. Watch closely so the sugars in the sambal do not burn.
11. Rest and serve2 min
    Let the fish rest 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate on the banana leaf. Serve with lime wedges, sliced cucumber and red onion, and steamed rice. Squeeze lime over the fish just before eating.

Tips

• Stingray is best bought and cooked the same day; it should smell clean and of the sea, not sharply of ammonia. A faint ammonia smell is common in rays, so rinsing and rubbing with lime and salt helps, but avoid any that smells strong.
• Make the sambal a day ahead for deeper flavour; keep it in a sealed container in the fridge.
• Toast the belacan until it is crumbly and fragrant before blending, and open windows or switch on the extractor fan as it is very pungent.
• If banana leaf is hard to find, wrap the fish in baking paper; the flavour will be slightly less aromatic but the dish still works.
• For a drier, more charred finish like a hawker grill, leave the oven grill on for an extra minute, watching for burning.

Food safety and allergens

Cook the stingray until the flesh is fully opaque and flakes away from the cartilage, with no translucent or raw-looking patches. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a covered container and eat within 1 day, reheating until piping hot.

Contains: fish, shellfish, soy, wheat

Watch it being made

• Oven-Baked Sambal Fish • Stingray 叁巴魔鬼鱼 Ikan Bakar/Panggang Recipe • Singapore Sambal Chilli FishSpice N' Pans · 820,185 views · YouTube
• Sambal Stingray - 三峇魔鬼鱼The Meatmen Channel · 303,656 views · YouTube
• Singapore BBQ Sambal Stingray Recipe - 三峇魔鬼鱼The Meatmen Channel · 114,453 views · YouTube

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