Saturday 13 April 2013

Ikan Percik Merah


When I saw Cik Manggis' Ikan Bakar  it made me very hungry especially the sight of the saucer of budu with lime, chillies and tempoyak. Do you know that I haven't had budu for the longest time? For a Terengganu girl, it is rather curious that I don't have any budu in my pantry.


Budu......You can all it Voodoo for all I care.

Budu (fermented fish sauce) is a  favourite condiment in Kelantan and Terengganu and it is available here at Tesco and 99 Speedmart. I have never bought any because I was quite wary of the quality and hygiene standards of the manufacturer. Somehow I only trust the one that my family consumes in Terengganu. Next time I must ask my Mum to bring me a bottle or two :)



I did take a chance by buying a bottle from 99 Speedmart, the original intention is to make Nasi Kerabu. However, Nasi Kerabu is rather time consuming and I haven't found the time to get started. Besides, it is a very busy time at work for me and I try to take it easy during the weekends. 



Although I come from neighbouring Terengganu, I am not familiar with Kelantan food. I have been referring to Azie Kitchen for guidance on Kelantan Cooking and this recipe for Ikan Kembung Percik Merah looked rather interesting.


Served with budu and ulam (raw vegetables).

I am familiar with Ayam Percik but did not realise that there is percik for fish as well. So it would be good to cook this dish and contribute to MFF Kelantan and to satisfy my craving for fish and budu. I couldn't get Ikan Kembung so I had to make do with Ikan Selar.



The percik spice paste is quite easy to make. Basically we just blend the ingredients with coconut milk and the saute it until the spice paste is aromatic and thick. The fish is first marinated in salt and turmeric and then grilled. Every now and then, just baste the fish with the percik spice paste until fish is cooked and the spice paste in slightly browned.



I wish I had a charcoal grill as there is a difference in the aroma of the fish that is grilled on a charcoal grill and the oven. You cannot get the same effect in the oven. I was not very happy with my grilled fish even though the percik spice was very tasty. But first let me tell you about the budu....

With a dollop of homemade tempoyak. I say, cakap pun tak guna!

After taking my snapshots and calling it a wrap, I sat down for my lunch. I took a bit of fish, some ulam and drizzled budu and tempoyak together with chillies on my rice. My first mouthful, and I felt like crying. My God! It was so goooood........Given that my tempoyak was too salty but still, the flavors of the budu was explosive! I must have this stuff in my pantry now at all costs. But I know that it should not be consumed too often due to the high salt content. Besides food fermented in lots of salt have a potential carcinogenic effect.


Oh sorry, Ikan Percik, this post is supposed to be about you. OK, coming back to my fish, I will say that it was good as the percik spice paste was delicious. I recommend making extra spice paste as it goes well with plain white rice. Though the percik was very aromatic, had the fish been cooked with a charcoal grill, it would have been perfect. But still, I was happy....I was on a budu high.......










Ikan Kembung Percik Merah
Recipe source : Adapted from Azie Kitchen

- 4 fish (I used Ikan Selar instead of Ikan Kembung)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt

For Percik Spice Paste :
- 7 dried chillies, soaked to soften
- 2 fresh red chillies
- 10 shallots
- 1 inch fresh turmeric
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small piece asam keping/asam gelugur
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup thick santan
- Salt to taste

Method :
1. Rub fish with turmeric powder and salt.
2. Blend dried chillies, shallots, fresh turmeric, ginger and garlic together with santan.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan and saute the blended spice paste until aromatic and thick.
4. Add salt and sugar to taste together with asam keping.
5. Preheat oven at 180C and grill the fish for 10 minutes and baste with the sauteed spice paste every ten minutes until fish is well coated and cooked.



I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets.

51 comments:

  1. Hi Phong Hong
    I wanted to cook ikan percik too but I was just lazy lately. But Im glad to see you cooking up this dish so I can get my butt up and start away....hehehe. it sure look very delicious and very tempting.

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    1. Mel, it is quite a simple dish. Only hassle is peeling onions and washing the blender hah! hah! Do try but use ikan kembung, ikan selar is not that suitable.

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  2. This looks so good..... my saliva is dripping ... eh Sista....I have TGG budu in my fridge and ulam raja in the garden...you can do better leh ?? hmmmm..... not guilty if the needle on the weight machine goes to the right ok :)

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    1. Whoa budu sampai ke NZ? I miss ulam raja. I used to have one n my garden but it died :( My weighing machine has been steadily inching the the right hee..hee...

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  3. hahaha Cm pun rasa nak menangis jugak ni..sedapnya :)tak perlu banyak jenis lauk .Cukup lah ikan percik Ph dan budu dan 1/2 periuk nasi lepas tu menyesal...diet gagal hikhik

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    1. CM, kalau pekena budu dengan tempoyak, dengan nasi je pun rasa dah berselera. Ish..ketagih!

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  4. Deaaar,
    Wow sedapnya. Bila ternampak masakan Kelantan, selera makan pun timbul. Your percik looks so perfect. This is original recipe of Ikan Percik. There are 2 types, white and red. After this, try white sauce. Normally ikan kembung is the best ikan to be used for percik.

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    1. Azie, thank you for the recipe and your comments! I agree that kembung is better but I could not get it and I was semangat berkobar-kobar to cook ikan percik :) Will be trying some more of your Kelantan recipes.

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  5. Your ikan percik looks amazing! Wish I could have a serving with lots of rice to go along for the sauce.

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    1. Mich, if you cook this dish be sure to make more sauce. It is great with white rice and I will cook this again :)

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  6. Hi Phong Hong, I think I'll try the Percik Fish first. It's yummy enough..with the fresh cut vegetables.

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    1. Kimmy, must try and get ikan kembung. And if you have charcoal grill, lagi best!

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  7. Phong Hong, I love Ikan bakar, yours look soooo good, I want to go to ur house now!!

    I also make Ikan bakar last week but because it was for dinner, my photographs turned out so dark and dull... I still wonder want to post it or not..

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    1. Thank you, Li Shuan! Eh, my fish finish already....Can still post mah, unless if you make ikan bakar again and do a re-shoot.

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  8. Ikan bakar I love very much but I have not heard of budu until now:D eerrrmmm...I'll skip the ulam, me not a fan of raw vegetables lol!

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    1. Jeannie, budu is quite strong smelling. Some people may find it very smelly :) If you don't like ulam, can always serve with simple fried vege.

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  9. Phong Hong, I've never tried this sauce before but sounds so delicious! Hopefully you'll invite me to your house when you cook this again.

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    1. Ann, of course you are welcome! I think you will love this dish because the spice paste is so fragrant and delicious.

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  10. Sounds like a winner!!! Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

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    1. Thank you, Lizzy! I ate too much burppp....

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  11. This looks delish!! Love the presentation & learned so many new terms like budu and bakar. Thanks for sharing & can't wait to read more! :)

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    1. Thank you, Chelsea! Many more "strange" dishes coming your way :)

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  12. Yum-Yum your ayam percik looks very delicious with it have some ulam and budu put juice and skin of limau kesturi slices of shallots and geneh lots of chillie padi yum-yum can eat 2 plates of rice.I have a bottle of budu here and another one in Beng's house if you want you can have .In fact Koo-Pa gave me 2 bottles made by the lady next door to his clinic.It's in the frig still wrap up with plastic bag your mum brought for me when she came down to KL Ok now want to go and look for fish to cook Ikan Percik for dinner

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    1. Ee-Ee, I had two helpings of rice yesterday. Budu was so good and the percik rempah was very appetizing.

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  13. PH....sampainya hati tunjuk gambar-gambar camni...

    penat I telan airliur masuk sini pagi-pagi, makin ditelan makin melambak2 menitis tis! tis!
    ini menu wajib try punya! baru I tau ada percik warna merah, nampak lebih menyelerakan dari percik yang warna putih tu kan? (haduii telan air liur lagi nih!)

    PH, kalau I nak beli budu, apa brand yg sedap?
    oh ya, you pandai tak buat home made budu?
    sorry, manyak tanya la pulak :)

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    1. Q, alamak I dah buang botol budu! I transfer kat botol lain sebab dia punya original cover tak berapa bagus. Takpe, nanti kalau I lalu kat supermart, I akan jenguk brand budu. Homemade budu tak tau buat. Kalau tau buat pun tak leh buat, nanti neighbour complain bau busuk. Kalau makan budu, kena perah jus limau nipis banyak-banyak. Syiok habis!

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  14. Is Budu similar in taste at all to Thai Fish Sauce?? Cheers

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    1. Carole, budu has a stronger smell and taste. Fish sauce actually comes from budu except that it is filtered and further refined.

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  15. Oh no!!!! That looks absolutely gorgeous!!!! I like! I like!!!!! Drool! Drool!

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    1. Arthur, you can try making this percik fish. So easy and so delish!

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  16. I already cooked Nasi Kerabu Kelantan but till now still have no time to write that long recipe, hehehe..When I was in Yati Ayam Percik, I like their ikan percik than ayam percik actually..So I must cook this ikan one day..

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    1. Sonia, I am waiting for your nasi kerabu! I got no time to cook it, so much work lah!

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  17. Hi PH, the ikan sure looks good, sedap ni! Tapi i tak pandai with the budu and tempoyak :))

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    1. Don't worry, it will still be very good without the smelly stuff!

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  18. Hi Phong Hong,
    Your fish looks so delicious! I have never tried budu before and to tell the truth, I am wary about trying them! But I do love cincaluk, I'm a true Malacca gal at heart! My late mom used to make our own homemade cincaluk, I really missed it. Cincaluk with a squeeze of lime and slices of chili padi and onions would be so good with your fish! Can tambah nasi, there goes the diet! You are making me hungry!

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    1. Joyce, you have just mentioned another of my favourites, cincaluk! Oh yes, lots of lime juice, onions and cili padi, and I can eat half a pot of rice hah! hah! I actually have a bottle of cincaluk in the pantry but I am saving it for later :)

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  19. Have to say I'm not a fan of smelly seafood products. Though if cooked well, the dishes can be very tasty. I like the bright red hue on your fish!

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    1. Kelly, skip the smelly stuff :) The percik fish by itself is very good. Do try it sometime.

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  20. I have never eaten Ikan Percik Merah before.
    There is one type of Malaysian food,right?
    the red colour make my mouth water,hahaha....

    but why the vegetables all are raw one? how to eat woh? hehehe...
    especially the Winged Beans and the long beans,
    teacher PH,can not be too lazy oh...

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    1. Friend, the Malays like to eat raw vege with their food. To eat raw, make sure the wing beans and long beans are still young so that they are tender and crunchy. If not, very difficult to eat. It is quite nice once you get used to it. If don't like, can fry with sambal belacan, also very yum! yum!

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  21. Phong Hong, memang cakap pun tak guna, I want to makan sahaja, plsssss!!!!!

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  22. hi phong hong, i just bought a small bottle of budu today..but to be honest, not sure yet what to make ..just buy first..hehe..even if it's not for that event, can still use for other grilled fish, hor?

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    1. Lena, it is also good with plain grilled fish or fried fish. Make sure you squeeze lots of lime juice in the budu, with sliced shallots and chillies. Syiok habis!

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  23. Wah....sedap!!!!!tekgok pun syok....

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  24. Wow Phong Hong,
    Normally I post comments only after I tried a recipe, but this write-up of yours and its photos make me unable to wait. It looks and sounds so delicious. I know this will taste good and this is also my type of food. I will cook this very soon and will follow exactly as was done in your photos.

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  25. Hello Phong Hong,
    I cooked this for lunch today and eat it with ulam and a mountainful of rice. It is really yum,yum. How come your chilli paste is of such a lovely colour - orangy-red? Mine is brownish. Furthermore, do you grill the fish for 20minutes plus if using kembong? I grilled mine in the oven for less than 10 minutes and its done. I like fish juicy. Like your other reader I would like to know the brand of budu you use back in Trengganu. Many, many thanks. This will be in my favourite recipes book.

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    1. Hi Butterfingers! I read both your comments and am glad that you liked the percik! Maybe because I used more chillies, hence the colour. Kembong is quite a small fish and may take less than 20 minutes? I can't quite remember for how long I grilled the ikan selar. The budu my mum uses in Terengganu is bought from someone who makes it at home on a small scale. It is not branded.

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  26. Hi Phong Hong,
    I cooked this again. This time I let the kembong grilled about 10 minutes on each side. It turned out better. Though it was on the drier side, the spice paste became very thick and it caramelized. So it became very tasty and fragrant. No wonder it calls for kembong, a fatty ish with very fine textured flesh. I am very glad to get this spice paste recipe.

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    1. Hi Butterfingers! Thanks for your feedback and sharing. Well, if I can get my hands on some kembong, I'll give it another try!

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