When fresh fish and Southeast Asian spices meet, the results are outstanding!

Ikan Pepes:  Indonesian Spiced Fish

When I first visited Malaysia, one of the many dishes that stuck out in my mind was Ikan Bakar – a fresh skate wing that was marinated in a spice paste, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. The sweet and spicy chili paste, coupled with the smokiness of the singed banana leaf, permeated the tender flesh of the skate.  Everytime we go back, I look forward to having this dish.

Here in the Bay Area, we were introduced to Bay Leaf Indonesian Restaurant in Sunnyvale.  They have a dish similar to the grilled skate wing called ikan pepes.  Ikan simply means “fish”.  Pepes is the type of cooking process used: wrap in banana leaf, steam until cooked through, then finish off on the grill.  Ever since having ikan pepes at Bay Leaf, I’ve been meaning to do this dish at home.
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