Indian Mackerel (Ikan Kembung) in Spicy Bean Sauce Recipe

It's the start of a long weekend for those of us in Malaysia - yay!  Well, first things first - today's feature is a spicy bean paste dish made with Indian mackerel.  Indian mackerel is well of course a species of mackerel and lends itself better to being fried, at least in my opinion.  Indian mackerel or ikan kembung in Malay is used a lot in spicy or curry dishes due to its' rather 'metallic' taste.  For a change, I decided to use a spicy bean paste instead.  The results were quite tasty although if you are not a fan of mackerel, you should substitute the mackerel with another fish of your choice.  Rockfish would be a great substitute.



The fish is pan-fried separately while the spicy bean sauce is cooked with some garlic, green onions, chili peppers and flavoured sparingly with some soy then poured over the fried fish.  Exceedingly easy although the pan-frying does take a while.  Garnish with some green onions or cilantro and you're done.



This post is part of my Yuen Chun Recipes, an ongoing project on this blog.


Serving suggestion: with steamed rice
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

6 Indian mackerels

Sauce:
3 cloves garlic,  minced
4 bird's eye chili peppers, sliced
2 tablespoons spicy bean paste (I used Yuen Chun's)
6 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon light soy sauce or to taste

Garnish: (optional)
2 stalks green onions, sliced
1 stalk cilantro, sliced



Method:

Firstly, pan-fry the mackerels until cooked.  Set aside.

Heat up wok until almost smoking.  Add about 2 tablespoons of oil.  Swirl to coat.  Turn heat low.  Add garlic and chili peppers.  Fry till aromatic.  Add spicy bean paste.  Add water.  Bring to a boil.  Do a taste test.  Add soy if desired. 

Arrange mackerels on serving dish.  Pour bean paste sauce over the fish.  Garnish if desired.  Serve immediately.

Share this post