Sambal Stingray (Malaysian-Portuguese Baked Fish)

Bake your fish the Malaysian Portuguese way—with a spice paste and plenty of banana leaves.

By Alia Ali
Updated February 05, 2024
Overhead view of sambal stingray

Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

Why It Works

  • Baking the fish in banana leaves perfumes the dish and keeps the fish moist.
  • Cooking the fish with the spice paste (instead of serving it separately) ensures that the fish is seasoned and flavored from the start.

Malaysia, like much of the world, has a long history of being colonized by European countries. Its historical port city Malacca was conquered in turn by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British (who then made their way throughout the country), leaving indelible marks all over the cultural landscape. You can see it in the architecture of many older government buildings in our state capitals, the pervasive segregation of society by ethnicities, and, of course, in our food.

Overhead view of a single serving of sambal stingray

Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

The Malaysian Portuguese (also called the Kristang) is by far one of the most resilient communities in the country, with their own festivals, music, and cuisine that have survived until today. If you’re traveling through the state of Malacca, you’re sure to get recommendations from tourists and locals alike to try the locally prepared Portuguese baked fish, an extremely popular menu item that has made its way around the country to home kitchens and even shopping-mall food courts. It’s essentially fish smothered in a rich and spicy paste, wrapped in banana leaves, and either grilled or baked. When it’s cooked with skate, it’s also referred to as sambal stingray, though any kind of fish (such as snapper) will do.

Interestingly, this archetypical dish of the Portuguese community only came about in the 20th century. Martin Theseira, Portuguese community leader and activist from Malacca, states confidently that Portuguese baked fish as it is served now was not in existence before the mid-1960s when he was a teenager. “There’s a spice paste combination popular in Kristang kitchens called rempah sayur (meaning ‘spice paste for vegetables’), which traditionally consists of candlenuts, fresh chiles, fermented shrimp paste, and Asian shallots,” he explains. His friend and part-time fisherman Charlie Overee is the first person he knows who experimented with pairing rempah sayur with fish and grilling it. It became a favorite party dish, the recipe spreading from family to family, and eventually became part of the menu in Kristang restaurants around Malacca. 

A fish spatula lifting up a bite of sambal stingray

Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

These days, each family has their own version of spice paste for Portuguese baked fish. One of my personal favorite versions of it is served at De Lisbon Restaurant. Julie Rodrigues, head cook and owner of the restaurant, tells me that her recipe includes lemongrass (which is not a traditional component of rempah sayur), and uses dried chiles instead of fresh chiles. Perfumed even further with makrut lime leaves, the baked fish is served with a small squeeze of calamansi juice to perk up the flavors, and served with white rice.

The fish of choice used at her restaurant and many other eateries are red snapper and sea bass, as they’re easier to procure fresh, but I love it cooked with skate. The recipe shared below is my own approximation of the version served at De Lisbon, prepared with skate, and baked in the oven for convenience.

Recipe Details

Sambal Stingray (Malaysian-Portuguese Baked Fish)

Prep 15 mins
Cook 60 mins
Total 75 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (454g) red onions or Asian shallots (about 2 medium onions or 8-10 Asian shallots), peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 ounce (15g) stemmed whole dried Kashmiri chilies (about 30 dried chiles), soaked for at least 20 minutes in hot water and drained 
  • 1 ounce (30g) candlenuts (about 10 candlenuts; see notes)
  • 3 stalks lemongrass, bottom 4 to 5 inches only, outer leaves discarded, tender core thinly sliced (about 2 ounces; 60g sliced lemongrass) 
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) vegetable oil
  • 5 makrut lime leaves, roughly torn
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds (600g) bone-in, skinless skate wing or skin-on snapper fillets, cut into 2- by 4-inch pieces 
  • Thawed frozen or fresh banana leaves, cut into about three 2-foot strips
  • 1 calamansi or Persian lime, halved and seeded
  • Cooked white rice, for serving

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Line a quarter- or half-sheet pan or 10-inch cast-iron skillet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

    Overhead view of lining a pan with aluminum foil

    Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

  2. In the bowl of a food processor, add onions, soaked chiles, candlenuts, and lemongrass. Process until fairly smooth, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of food processor bowl if necessary.

    Two image collage of sambal ingredients in a food processor before and after being processed

    Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

  3. In a wok or 10-inch skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once oil begins to shimmer (but not smoke), scrape contents of food processor bowl into oil along with the makrut lime leaves. Bring to a bubble, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook the spice paste, stirring and scraping occasionally, until it takes on a deep brown color and begins to look ever so slightly shiny, about 30 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons (6g) salt and cook for 1 minute longer.

    Two image collage of cooking sambal and lime leaves in wok

    Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

  4. Place the banana leaves on the prepared baking sheet, darker side up, overlapping the leaves to fully cover the pan and overhang the sides. Sprinkle lightly with salt, then set the on top in a single even layer. Spoon cooked spice paste directly onto fish, spreading it to cover fish completely. Fold banana leaves over fish, then fold parchment or aluminum foil over all the ingredients, sealing edges into an airtight parcel (see notes).

    Four image collage of stingray being placed on banana leaves, sambal mixture being spooned over and leaves being folded over

    Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

  5. Bake fish for 15-20 minutes if pieces are thinner than 1 inch, or 20-25 minutes if pieces are thicker than 1 inch (an instant-read thermometer inserted through the banana leaves into the center of the thickest part of a piece of fish within should register 140 to 150°F (60-65°C). Let rest in packet for about 5 minutes, then gently unwrap the foil and banana leaves. Transfer banana leaves and fish to a platter, squeeze calamansi or lime juice over the fish and serve immediately with warm rice on the side.

    Two image collage of banana leaf envelope wrapped in aluminum foil and then squeezing lime over cooked stingrays

    Serious Eats / Michelle Yip

Special Equipment

Food processor, aluminum foil, half-sheet pan or 10-inch cast-iron pan

Notes

If skate is unavailable, a similar weight of red snapper or sea bass can be used instead. In this case, the freshness of the fish is more important than the species, so use your judgment.

Candlenuts are also known as kukui in Hawai’i, and are relatively common in Polynesian islands and Southeast Asia. They are macadamia-like in color and texture, though should be cooked before consumption as they are mildly toxic when raw.

It's also possible to cook the fish in the banana-leaf package without having to seal it with foil or parchment. To do so, line the baking sheet as directed with banana leaves, then spread the cooked spice paste in an even layer on the banana leaves. Set the fish on to, lightly season with salt, and fold the overhanging banana leaves in to close the package. Carefully flip the package so that the folded-over side is now on the bottom (the package will now remain closed without the assistance of parchment or foil). Cook as directed.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The cooked fish keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days; reheat gently in the microwave.

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