Banana Leaf Baked fish

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Banana Leaf Baked fish

Published on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 20:03

Written by Jay 'Yakfisher' Penfold

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Now what to do with that freshly caught fish that filleted with some sides won't quite feed everyone who's coming for dinner? Whole bake it in banana leaves. I had my parents visiting from South Australia and had managed a little Trevalley that only tipped the 1.2kg mark on the scales. The plan was to give it a spicy Asian treatment wrapped in banana leaves. It was superb, served with a green papaya salad. It fed three of us well, filleted may have just fed two. There is so much less wastage cooking the fish on the bone with the added flavour bonus of the sticky, succulent gelatin coming from the frame. Don't forget to peek under the cheek for the most delicious nugget of meat.

1 x whole fish (Trevalley, Snapper or something similar)

1 x large banana leaf

1 x knob ginger sliced into slim rounds

1 x stalk lemongrass, whites sliced into thin rounds

2 x birds eye chillies (more if you like it hot, less if you're a chilli wuss)

2 x cloves garlic, chopped roughly

Select a banana leaf that is intact, ie, without splits from the wind. Cut the leaf along the spine from tip to base, making sure to avoid the sap that oozes out as it can stain clothes. Light the largest burner on your gas stove and wave the leaf over the flame about 100mm above, keeping it moving (don't burn it) until the leaf has changed colour to a dark green and become nice and pliable.

Lay down sheets of aluminium foil, baking paper then banana leaves, overlapping them until you have enough surface area to wrap up the fish and create a nice seal. Place the fish on top, scoring the flesh three or four times about a centimetre deep to allow for more even cooking, flavour permeation and aesthetics when served. Scatter the remaining ingredients on top of the fish, stuff the green stalks of the lemongrass into the belly cavity and wrap tightly, ensuring that the package is well sealed. Place on an oven tray or straight on the rack in a 180 degree Celsius oven for around 20 minutes a kilo. The fish tends to let you know when it's ready: you can smell that it's done. This fish was in the oven for 55mins and was cooked to perfection.

Slide the fish off the baking paper (taking care not to damage it or the banana leaves), onto a large platter. Served with an Asian inspired salad and a dry crisp white wine (Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc) or even an imported beer from Asia like Tiger, this will surely be a fish to remember.

The fish used in this recipe is this fish from Chalk and Cheese

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