Indonesian Grilled Fish (Ikan Bakar Colo Colo).

Written by: Pla - 25/07/2008

Ikan Bakar Colo Colo is an Indonesian Grilled Fish dish that originates from Maluku (Moluccas).

Ikan Bakar means grilled fish. This style of cooking, with the fish wrapped in banana leaves, is quite common in Indonesia and Malaysia, and I have seen the same preparation in Thailand also.

The Colo Colo comes from the name of the sweet-sour-spicy sauce that accompanies the fish. It has sliced chillies, shallots, garlic (optional), chopped tomatoes and minced sweet basil, with sweet soy sauce and lime juice constituting the ‘sauce’.

The Fish

Seabass or Grouper would be ideal choices for this dish, though really you can use any type of fish that you usually grill.

If using fillets, choose thick, chunky ones from a large fish. Thin fillets simply do not do this dish justice.

I like to use whole fish when cooking for more than one person, as it gives nice juicy meat. Scale, gut and gill the fish if not already done by the fishmonger. Make 3 diagonal slits on each side. Salt the cavity and the slits. You can if you wish put sliced garlic into the cavity.

Banana Leaf vs Aluminum Foil

When you grill or broil a fish wrapped in a banana leaf or aluminum foil, it is referred to as cooking en papillote, just as when you use parchment to make a fish parcel. It is basically steaming the fish in its own juices, but using banana leaf in the traditional way has one very important difference.

If you are ever in Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia and pass a hawker or street-food vendor grilling fish wrapped in a banana leaf, stop and pay attention. You will notice that the banana leaf sears then burns through in spots as the fish is grilled. The banana leaf packet is then no longer sealed, and steam can escape.

Some years ago on a trip to Malaysia, a friend took me to a hawker centre famous for Malay style Ikan Bakar, fish stuffed with sambal paste, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. The fish came to the table in the packet, which was opened in front of us. It was moist and juicy on the inside, with the skin just a little dry and seared, something you will never get if you use aluminum foil in the same way as banana leaf.

To re-create the banana leaf effect of initial ‘steaming’ followed by a drier heat towards the end, when using aluminum foil I cook about two-thirds of the time with the packet closed, then open it and broil for about 5 minutes a side until done. On a grill, you can either take the fish out of the packet and place directly on the grill to finish, or place the open pack on the grill. It is not exactly the same as banana leaf, but it is the closest you will get with foil.

Colo Colo Sauce

Some people call it a sambal, though I hesitate to do so as it does not fit my image of a sambal.

The key item is the Indonesian sweet soy sauce, kecap manis. Chinese sweet soy sauce is an acceptable substitute, but not 100% the same in taste.

I have given a small range in the quantity of freshly squeezed lime juice. If the sweet soy sauce you use is too sweet, then add a little more lime juice to balance the flavours. The final taste is supposed to be sweet-sour-spicy.

Use good quality tomatoes, worth the cost as you will be eating them raw.

The garlic is optional, as not everyone can eat raw garlic. If you can, but do not like too much, by all means reduce the quantity. Alternatively, put just a few slices of garlic into the sauce for a lovely accent, and have the rest on the side for the ‘heavy-duty’ garlic eaters.

The large red and green chillies are not hot, so the heat comes from the bird chillies. Again, use in a quantity that people can handle comfortably.

Thai sweet basil is used, which is fairly similar to sweet basil.

Try to finish preparing the Colo Colo before you start cooking the fish, as this will allow time for the flavours to develop.

Cooking Time

The rule of thumb when baking fish is 10 minutes per 1 inch / 2.5cm thickness of fish. Because the fish in this instance is wrapped in foil (or banana leaf), it takes a little longer for the packet to get up to temperature inside, and so cooking time will be slightly longer.

As a rough guide, the fish I used would have been done within 20 – 25 minutes if baked. Cooked in foil, it was still pink and ‘jelly’ like after 20 minutes, and needed the 10 minutes unwrapped to finish. But I must also point out that I used a lower level for the rack, and did not stick it right under the broiler – I only ever use the highest level for browning / crisping.

Serving

You can serve Ikan Bakar Colo Colo in the parcel, or transfer to a platter as I did. Spoon a little Colo Colo sauce over it, and serve the rest on the side.

This Indonesian style grilled fish goes well with Jasmine rice, as part of an Asian meal.

You could, if you wish, have other side dishes like sambal trasi / sambal belacan, or prawn crackers etc.