Baked Stingray (Pari Bakar)

Rub the stingray slice with the juice of the lemon and sprinkle on 1 tablespoon salt. Set aside while you make the paste.

Dissolve tamarind paste in warm water and sieve out seeds and membrane. Set aside.

In a blender or mortar and pestle, grind shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, belacan and chili paste until it forms a paste. I let mine remain coarser but you can go as smooth as your blender allows. Stir in oil.

In a very hot frying pan, toast the paste for about 3-5 minutes until it turns a darker shade of brown and becomes clumpy and thick. Pour in tamarind juice and palm sugar and let it simmer on medium low until it has thickened. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400ºF or 200ºC.

Tear out a large piece of aluminium foil, large enough to fold twice over to form a pocket for the sting ray to sit in comfortably. Tear out a slightly smaller sheet of baking paper and place on aluminium foil.

Place 1-2 tablespoons of tamarind chili paste on the baking paper. Place the sting ray on top and slather on the remaining paste on the top side.

Wrap the stingray well with foil, making sure sides are pressed in and sealed well. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and open foil carefully. If the flesh is all white and flakes easily, it’s done.

Garnish with red onion slices, lime wedges and sprigs of coriander. Savour with a good bowl of rice and a simple salad.

Recipe adapted from MalaysianFood.net.