Ikan Bakar

Anita Jacobson’s ikan bakar rica-rica is an Indonesian grilled-fish version with a chilli-rich coating. Her selected recipe uses tilapia fillets and an oven broiler, drawing its spicy character from the Manado-style paste.

Tilapia fillets are seasoned with salt, pepper and lime juice. Shallots, red Fresno chillies, optional bird’s-eye chillies and ginger are ground into the paste for the coating.

Oil fries the paste with lime leaves until fragrant. Off the heat, roughly minced tomatoes, salt, selected palm sugar and strained tamarind liquid are mixed in, and the sauce coats the fish for a further rest.

The marinated fillets lie on a foil-lined baking tray under a preheated broiler. Both sides cook until slightly charred; Jacobson also offers a grill as a separate cooking approach.

Lime and tamarind bring acidity to the chilli-and-tomato coating, with palm sugar balancing the mixture. The selected tilapia version keeps the focus on the coated, lightly charred fillets rather than adding another sauce or side dish.