Wednesday, July 24, 2013

In Indonesia I ate: Patin fish cooked inside bamboo

The first time I ever heard of ikan patin (iridescent shark or shark catfish) was on a business trip to Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. Back then I wasn't able to taste this local delicacy because I was too busy taking care of my boss.

Then a few months later, on a culinary tour with a couple of friends, we went to a Kalimantan restaurant somewhere in Bogor (West Java) and we ordered ikan patin. What makes this Kalimantan dish so famous is that the catfish is stuffed inside a bamboo with all the spices along with it, then grilled. The bamboo would probably fit a human arm, so this fish is quite large in size. 




Once the cooking's done, the fish would be taken out of the bamboo, laid out on a banana leaf plate, and then ready to be eaten. I know catfish isn't to everyone's taste, but I quite enjoy it. The meat is tender because it is cooked inside the bamboo, which also allows the chili sauce and spices to permeate all over the fish. Really delicious.

No comments:

Post a Comment