Ikan Submat Chilli (from Matt Tan’s Daily Nyonya Dishes)

Pan-fried fish stuffed with chilli

Ingredients
1 kg (2.2 lb) selar (yellowtail scad)
1 tsp pepper
1 ½ tsp salt
235 ml (1 cup) groundnut oil

Rempah (Spice Paste)

20 old cloves garlic
6 candlenuts
12 red chillies
6 chilli padi (bird’s eye chillies), optional

Preparation
Scale the fish, then gut and clean them keeping the heads and tail on. Rub the pepper on both sides of the fish and in the cavity. Set aside for 15 minutes then rinse and pat dry.

Rempah (Spice Paste)
Peel the garlic. Rinse the candlenuts and soak them in water for 5 minutes. Chop the chillies roughly. Pound these ingredients into a fine paste.

Method
Use a sharp knife to cut a slit along the top of the fish, running the knife through the flesh and freeing it from the bones to create a deep pocket. Repeat on the other side. Stuff the pockets with the spice paste but do not overfill them. Set aside the extra spice paste. Pat the fish dry and wipe off any spice paste on the fish skin.

Heat a wok till it is hot. Put in the oil and when it is hot, lower the flame to medium and fry the fish till it is golden brown on both sides. Drain, set aside the oil for later use and rinse the wok.

Reheat the wok and put in 2 tablespoons of the oil that was set aside. When the oil is hot, lower the flame to medium heat and fry the extra spice paste for five minutes. Sprinkle in 1 ½ tsp of salt and stir. Pour this rempah on the fried fish and serve.