Hardtail Mackerel Stuffed with Sambal Belacan

I am hopeless when it comes to fish. And this is my second fish post after Ikan Percik Merah. That one was easy because I didn't have to fry the fish. I am scared of frying fish because of the splattering oil. Even the loud sizzling when the fish hits the hot oil sends me running out of the kitchen. Coward of the year. LOL!

And I don't even know how to gut a fish properly. My first and only attempt many years ago left the poor fish in tatters. And yet here I am, frying two ikan cencaru (hardtail mackerel) on a lazy Sunday afternoon. All this due to Queenie's Cencaru Sumbat Sambal Belacan which had me fantasizing about the taste of fried fish, belacan and sweet soya sauce. My goodness, how could anybody this side of Asia resist that?

Queenie's advice is to remove the fish guts through a slit made behind the fish instead of the usual way through the abdomen. I'm no fish surgeon and I have to get the service staff at Aeon to do the deed. But to tell the Kakak (big sister) to cut the fish through the back? Shy lah. Besides, she was already staring daggers at me for interrupting her in the middle of chopping up a big fish. Ooops..sorry! 

The sambal stuffing is very basic. All you need is your good old sambal belacan (just pound fresh chillies and toasted belacan) and mix it with sliced onions. I make my sambal belacan in bulk (using blender) and for two fish, I used 5 tablespoons of sambal belacan and one thinly sliced big onion. The smell of belacan toasting is beautiful to some of us but for the rest of the population, it would be what the CSI team would refer to as the familiar smell of decomp. I love CSI :)

I carefully made a slit along the back of the fish, all the time paying attention so that I don't cut too deep. And also to avoid accidents. A few months ago I almost sliced off the tip of my ring finger. The ceramic knife was extremely sharp and  made it's way 3/4 through my fingertip. And mind you, I was slicing chillies. Hot chillies and open wound. I shall not get into the details in case you faint because I almost did. LOL! 

After successfully making the slits, I stuffed the fish. And since the fish already has a slit in it's belly, I also stuffed the remaining sambal into the belly and under it's head. Queenie is shaking her head. Tsk..tsk..tsk...

I took out the big wok my Mum gave me and heated it up, poured oil and said a silent prayer. Then I sprinkled some salt into the hot oil to prevent the fish from sticking to the wok. That's what my Mum taught me. And then, I braced myself. I lifted a fish and gently lowered it into the wok. Prop! prop! prak! prak! I ran away.......but not for long and  came back to drop the other fish in.

As Mr and Mrs fish sizzled away, I cleared the work top and cut my french beans. Then I checked on the fish. For parts of the fish that didn't quite reach the oil, I tipped the wok and held it there. Something I learnt while observing my Mum cook. Now time to flip the fish. Again I braced myself for the onslaught of sizzling oil. Yearghhh.....OK, made it. I safely flipped both fish and there was minimal sticking. The smell was fantastic!

After a short while the fish was done. But I still had to fry my french beans. Since there was still quiet a bit of oil in the wok, I decided to use some of that oil for my vegetable. I used up the rest of the sliced onions that didn't make it into the sambal and chopped up a few cloves of garlic. I also added eggs into the french beans. In my excitement, I forgot to add salt. Hah! Hah! My fried french beans also smelled fantastic.

And now to taste my fish! As Queenie mentioned, douse the fish with sweet soya sauce. As a Terengganu native, our sweet sauce "kayciap" is second to none. I knew I had a secret stash somewhere in the pantry courtesy of my Mum. I did a quick search and jackpot! I found 2 bottles, all nicely wrapped up. Not wasting anymore time, I poured two tablespoon of the sauce onto my fish and squeezed some lime juice.

Hmmmm......big smile on my face. It was delicious! And then I remembered Queenie said to heat up the leftover oil till sizzling point and pour a spoonful of that oil onto the sambal.  I nipped into the kitchen and did just that. What can I say? It was heavenly (Institut Jantung Negara flashes before my eyes) and if I were eating rice, I would be heading for the rice pot for top ups. 

I must say that I am very pleased with my delicious lunch today. Two thumbs up to my friend Queenie for this simple but explosive dish. Meletup habis! And a small pat on my back to me for conquering my fear of frying fish. I guess the people at the fish section at Aeon will be seeing me more often. Hee..hee...

Hardtail Mackerel Stuffed with Sambal (Cencaru Sumbat Sambal Belacan)
Recipe source : Adapted from Queenie

Ingredients :
- 2 hardtail mackerel (ikan cencaru)
- 5 tablespoons sambal belacan
- 1 big onion, thinly sliced
- Sweet soya sauce
- Lime
- oil for frying

Method :
1. Make a deep slit at the back of the fish to create a pocket.
2. Mix sambal belacan with sliced onions and stuff into the fish.
3. Heat oil in wok and fry the fish until cooked and slightly crispy.
4. To serve, pour sweet soya sauce over the fish with a squeeze of lime juice.
5. For extra kick, open up the fish to expose sambal and pour the hot frying oil onto it.

Note :
- If you are cleaning the fish yourself, remove the innards through the slit from the back of the fish. Do not cut into abdominal area.
- In my case, the fish was gutted through the abdomen. I still made the pocked at the back of the fish and stuffed the sambal in there and into the abdominal area.