From preston_pittman@hotmail.com Fri May 6 15:32:22 2005 Date: Fri, 6 May 2005 03:55:56 +0000 (UTC) From: Preston Pittman Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes Subject: Grilled Spicy Fish Pate in Banana Leaf Followup-To: rec.food.cooking, rec.food.recipes Grilled Spicy Fish Pate in Banana Leaf Otak Otak - Malaysia Makes 24 parcels These spicy fish pate parcels are a typical portable lunch in Asia. Wrapped in banana leaves, the pate is infused with a distinctive floral aroma and taste. Frozen banana leaves may be found in Asian and Latin American markets; aluminum foil may be substituted. Spice Paste 2 lemongrass stalks, tender heart section only, chopped 6 candlenuts, soaked in water for 10 minutes, or blanched almonds 1 piece fresh ginger, 1/2" long, peeled 2 shallots, quartered 4 cloves garlic 8 fresh small red chile peppers, seeded andcoarsely chopped about 3 Tbsp water 2 tsp ground coriander 1/4 tsp ground turmeric 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 3/4 cup (6 fl oz) coconut cream 1 tsp salt 1-1/2 tsp sugar dash of ground white pepper 1-1/2 lb whitefish fillets, preferably Spanish or king mackerel, cut into 1" dice 6 kaffir lime leaves, cut into hairlike slivers, or shredded zest of 1 lime 24 pieces banana leaf, each 6" square 1 bunch basil, stemmed and leaves separated fresh red chile pepper slivers To make the spice paste, combine the lemongrass, candlenuts or almonds, ginger, shallots, garlic and chilies in a blender. Add the water as needed to facilitate the blending and blend to a smooth paste. Add the coriander and turmeric and blend to combine. In a wok over medium heat, warm the vegetable oil. Add the spice paste and fry, stirring frequently, until fragrant and the oil takes on a red hue, about 3 minutes. Stir in the coconut cream, salt, sugar and white pepper and simmer until the mixture forms a fragrant thick cream, 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Place the fish in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process to a smooth paste. Add the spice paste and half of the kaffir lime leaf slivers or regular lime zest and pulse just until the fish absorbs the spice paste. To form the parcels, you must first soften the banana leaves: Bring a saucepan filled with water to a boil. Working with 1 piece of leaf at a time and using tongs, dip the leaf into the boiling water for a few seconds. Lift it out, drain well and place, shiny side down, on a work surface so that the grain runs horizontally to you. Place a few basil leaves in the midsection of the leaf. Spread 3 Tbsp of the fish mixture down the middle (along the grain), forming a flat log about 1-1/2" wide by 4" long. Scatter a few of the remaining lime leaf slivers or lime zest shreds and slivers of red chile on top. Fold the bottom and top edges over the filling, overlapping in the middle. Press down and flatten the ends; seal both ends with toothpicks to form flat parcels. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling. The parcels may be formed several hours in advance and refrigerated. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. When the coals are ash white, position the grill rack 3-4" from the coals and place the parcels on it. Grill, turning once, until the parcels feel firm when pressed, about 3 minutes per side. Serve the parcels hot, warm or at room temperature. Remove the leaf to eat. -- Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia D. Hill at recipes@swcp.com. Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting. Please allow several days for your submission to appear. Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/