Sambal Stingray (spicy and flavorful banana leaf-infused BBQ Stingray)

'BBQ' SAMBAL STINGRAY
(from Kitchen Tigress blog)

Sambal (makes about 1 cup)
140 g shallots (14 pieces)
70 g peeled garlic (10 cloves)
20 g ginger (thumb size)
20 g lemon grass, white part only (2 medium size stalks)
50 g red chillies (3 medium size pieces)
15 g dried chillies (15 pieces)

trim stems, cut 2 cm long, soak in warm water till soft, about 30 minutes; squeeze dry and discard water
15 g belacan (1 tbsp)

roast at 150°C or dry-fry over medium-low heat till dry and crumbly
½ cup vegetable oil
20 g tamarind paste (1 tbsp rounded)

mash with 2 tbsp hot water, drain and discard seeds and pulp
30 g palm sugar (3 tbsp), roughly chopped
¼ tsp salt

1 stingray wing (850 g), rinsed and dried
2 tsp salt
1 big piece banana leaf, a few inches wider than your baking tray
Garnish
4 calamansi limes, halved
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup tomato or pineapple slices
½ cup cucumber slices

Wash, trim, peel and roughly chop shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and red chillies as appropriate. Grind or pound with dried chillies and belachan till smooth.

Stir-fry sambal paste with vegetable oil over medium heat till fragrant and colour darkens, about 15 minutes. Add tamarind water, palm sugar and salt. Stir-fry till sugar is dissolved and water evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat. Leave till cool. You should have about 1 cup of sambal.

Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F). Soften banana leaf in hot water. Dry with paper towels and brush with oil. Line baking tray with aluminium foil, followed by banana leaf. Tuck long ends of banana leaf under tray.

Cut stingray into 2 pieces (easier to flip over), or leave it as 1 big piece (more 'wow'). Cut a few slits in the thicker end – along the grain, on both sides, spaced about 3 cm (1 inch) apart. Sprinkle with salt, including the slits. Place on banana leaf, bottom/white side up, top/grey side down. Bake in middle of the oven with the thicker end inside, till 70-80% cooked. This should take about 10 minutes.

Remove stingray from the oven. Turn off oven's bottom heat, leaving only the top heat on. Spread ⅓ of sambal on stingray. Place stingray in top of oven. Grill with oven door ajar till sambal sizzles and top half of stingray is just cooked, about 4 minutes. Flip stingray over with a spatula. Spread with remaining sambal. Repeat grilling as before.

Remove stingray and banana leaf to a serving plate. Garnish and serve immediately.