Braised Fish Steaks

With onions & sweet soy sauce – IKAN TEMPRA –

SINGAPORE / MALAYSIA (PERANAKAN)

Most Peranakan dishes are quite labour-intensive or have a long list of ingredients, but ikan tempra is surprisingly simple to prepare – so simple that this humble dish has filtered into many non-Peranakan households in Singapore or Penang, including mine. Ikan refers to the fish, while tempra refers to the method of braising with onions and sweet soy sauce and finishing with a squeeze of lime. The onions and kecap manis cook down into a caramel-like sweet sticky sauce that is delicious spooned over plain steamed rice. Fish steaks are much better than fillets for braising, as the bone keeps the flesh moist and tender.

Serves 2–4
  1. Cut the fish crosswise into 2.5cm thick slices. If you are buying a portion of a large fish like hake, tell your fishmonger you want fish steaks. Rub the fish all over with sea salt and leave to marinate briefly while you prepare the other ingredients.
  2. Slice the onion thickly. Leave the chillies whole, but crush them lightly with the side of your knife.
  3. Heat the groundnut oil in a large frying pan. Add the fish steaks to the pan and fry over a medium heat on one side until golden brown, then flip over carefully and brown on the other side. Be careful not to overcook. Remove and set aside.
  4. Add the sliced onions to the remaining oil in the pan and fry until softened. Add the chillies, light soy sauce, kecap manis, and a small glug of water and bring to the boil, stirring to mix well.
  5. Return the fried fish steaks to the pan and immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer. Cook gently until the sauce reduces to a syrupy consistency. Stir in the lime juice.
  6. Serve the fish steaks with the sweet sticky sauce poured over.