Ikan bakar
Ikan bakar is an Indonesian and Malaysian dish, prepared with charcoal-grilled fish or other forms of seafood. Ikan bakar literally means "roasted fish" in Indonesian and Malay. Ikan bakar differs from other grilled fish dishes in that it often contains flavourings like bumbu, kecap manis, sambal, and is covered in a banana leaf and cooked on a charcoal fire.
Course | Main course |
---|---|
Place of origin | Indonesia and Malaysia |
Associated national cuisine | Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Fish, seasoned with garlic, shallots and other spices grilled on charcoal |
Origin and popularity
Grilling is one of the oldest and earliest cooking method to prepare fish. Freshwater fish and seafood are among the main source of protein intake for the inhabitants of the archipelago. Naturally, this method is immensely popular and quite widespread in the maritime realm of Indonesian archipelago. Thus the grilled-barbecued fish is regarded as a classic dish of Indonesian cuisine.[1][2]
As an archipelagic nation, ikan bakar is very popular in Indonesia, commonly found in many places; from an Acehnese beach right down, a restaurant perched over Kupang's harbour in East Nusa Tenggara, to the center of Jakarta's business district.[1] Various specific version exist, including as Sundanese ikan bakar Cianjur,[3] which mainly grilled freshwater fish, such as carp and gourami, and Balinese ikan bakar Jimbaran, freshly grilled seafood fish in warungs clustered near Jimbaran beach and fishmarket in Bali.[4] The barbecued seafood however, is especially popular in eastern Indonesia region; Sulawesi and Maluku where most of the people work as fishermen, and both areas have a vast sea which brings them different kind of seafood.[5] Usually, the fish is marinated with mixture of spices pastes, and sometimes with belacan or kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and then grilled; sometimes protected with a sheet of banana leaf placed between the seafood and grill to avoid the fish being stuck to the grill and broken to pieces.[5]
Marination and spices
The fish is usually marinated with a mixture of sweet soy sauce and coconut oil or margarine, applied with a brush during grilling. The spice mixture may vary among regions and places, but usually it consists of a combination of ground shallot, garlic, chili pepper, coriander, tamarind juice, candlenut, turmeric, galangal and salt.[6] In Java and most of Indonesia, ikan bakar usually tastes rather sweet because the generous amount of sweet soy sauce either as marination or dipping sauce.[7] It is commonly consumed with steamed rice and the sweet sticky soy sauce poured over finely chopped green chilies and shallots.[1]. While the ikan bakar of Minangkabau (Padang), most of Sumatra and also Malay peninsula, usually more spicier and yellow-reddish in colour because the generous amount of chili pepper, turmeric and other spices, and the absence of sweet soy sauce.[8]
Ikan bakar is usually served with sambal belacan (chili with shrimp paste) or sambal kecap (sliced chili and shallot in sweet soy sauce) as dipping sauce or condiment and slices of lemon as garnishing. The East Indonesian Manado and Maluku ikan bakar usually uses rica-rica,[9] dabu-dabu[10] or colo-colo condiment.[11]
Variants
There are many variants of ikan bakar, differ from the recipes of marinate spices, dipping sauces or sambals, to the species of fishes being grilled. Almost all kinds of fish and seafood can be made into ikan bakar, the most popular are freshwater gourami, patin (pangasius) and ikan mas (carp), to seafood tongkol or cakalang (skipjack tuna), bawal (pomfret), tenggiri (wahoo), kuwe (trevally), baronang (rabbitfish), kerapu (garoupa), kakap merah (red snapper), and pari (stingray).[12] Some of the popular forms of seafood besides fish include sotong (squid), and udang (shrimp).
Tradition
Enjoying ikan bakar on a beach is a popular culinary itinerary during a visit to popular Indonesian tourism destinations; such as Jimbaran beach in Bali,[13] Losari beach in Makassar, and Muara Karang harbour in Jakarta.
In Indonesia, ikan bakar might be consumed any day throughout the year. However, in recent years, barbecuing fish and grilling corn cobs has grown to become a tradition on celebrating New Year's Eve.[14][15] Ikan bakar and jagung bakar has become a New Year's barbecue party essentials among Indonesians.[16]
References
- Epicurus (10 November 1999). "Savoring 'ikan bakar' against backdrop of Jakarta at night". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- Schonhardt, Sara (24 October 2017). "40 Indonesian foods we can't live without". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- AbraResto (10 November 1999). "Sampling the Best of Indonesia Without Leaving Jakarta". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- Brown, Samantha (10 February 2015). "6 dishes every Bali visitor needs to try". CNN. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- "Ikan Bakar". Tasty Indonesian Food.com. Tasty Indonesian Food.com. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- "107 resep bumbu oles ikan bakar enak dan sederhana". Cookpad (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "11 resep sambal kecap ikan bakar enak dan sederhana". Cookpad (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "43 resep ikan bakar bumbu padang enak dan sederhana". Cookpad (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Ikan Bakar Rica-Rica – Spicy Grilled Fish – Daily Cooking Quest". Daily Cooking Quest. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Begini Cara Membuat Ikan Bakar Siram Sambal Dabu-Dabu Khas Manado". grid.id. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "IKAN BAKAR COLO-COLO". grid.id. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Ini Nih Jenis-Jenis Ikan yang Lezat untuk Dibakar". gohitz.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- Planet, Lonely. "Restaurants in Jimbaran, Indonesia". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Bikin Ikan Bakar Rayakan Tahun Baru 2018, Simak Resep Berikut". Tempo (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- Indonesia, CNN. "Kembang Api dan Bakar Ikan Sambut Tahun Baru di Timur" (in Indonesian). CNN. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Mau Pesta Jagung atau Bakar Ikan di Malam Tahun Baru? Cari Bahannya di Jalan Raya Bogor". Tribunnews.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2018.
External links
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