Grilled Milkfish

Ingredients

Fish

• 2whole milkfish (ibiya), 700–900 g each, scaled and gutted through the belly, gills removed
• 2 tspcoarse sea salt
• Juice of 2 limes

Stuffing

• 1onion, sliced into rings
• 4garlic cloves, sliced
• 30 gfresh ginger, in matchsticks
• 2tomatoes, sliced
• 1red chilli, split
• 1 handfulcoriander or basil leaves
• 60 gfresh coconut, coarsely grated

Basting

• 100 mlthick coconut milk
• 2 tbspcoconut oil
• 1 tspsalt
• Juice of 1 lime

To serve

• 600 gsteamed white rice
• 1lime, in wedges
• Chilli and soy dipping sauce, or salt and lime

Directions

1. Rinse the fish inside and out, paying attention to the blood line along the backbone, and pat it completely dry. A wet skin sticks to the grill and tears.
2. Score the flanks with 4–5 deep diagonal slashes each side, cutting right down to the bone. On milkfish this both speeds the cooking and cuts through some of the fine intramuscular bones.
3. Rub the salt and lime juice into the slashes and the belly cavity, and leave 15 minutes.
4. Pack the cavity with the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, chilli, herbs and grated coconut, then close it with two small skewers or tie the fish at three points with soaked string.
5. Build a fire of coconut husks and shells and let it burn to glowing embers with a fine grey ash. Coconut husk burns hot and gives the smoke Nauruans associate with the dish; hardwood charcoal is the next best thing.
6. Whisk the basting mixture. Oil the grill bars well and set them about 15 cm above the coals.
7. Lay the fish down and grill 8–10 minutes on the first side without touching it, basting the exposed side twice. Moving a fish too early is what makes the skin stick.
8. Turn once, using two spatulas or a fish cage, and grill 8–10 minutes on the second side, basting again, until the skin is blistered and crisp and the slashes have opened.
9. It is done when the flesh at the thickest part behind the head is opaque all the way to the bone and flakes when pressed, and the dorsal fin pulls out cleanly. Total time is about 20–25 minutes for a 800 g fish.
10. Rest 5 minutes, squeeze over lime and serve whole on a platter with rice, the softened stuffing spooned out alongside, and warn everyone about the bones.

Technique

• Milkfish is famously bony, with dozens of fine Y-shaped intramuscular bones. Deep scoring helps, but the fish is traditionally eaten slowly and carefully by hand, lifting the flesh off in flakes.
• In Nauru the fish come from brackish ponds in Buada Lagoon and in coastal pits, stocked with fry caught in the sea, a form of aquaculture practised on the island for generations and a rare inland food source on a phosphate island.
• Milkfish flesh is oily and forgiving over fire but goes soft and pasty if overcooked; pull it as soon as the flesh at the spine turns opaque.
• Salting and lime for 15 minutes firms the surface and helps the skin crisp; longer than 30 minutes starts curing the outer flesh.

Substitutions

• No milkfish: use whole sea bass, mullet or trevally of the same weight, which are far less bony and cook in the same time. Frozen whole milkfish, often sold deboned, is common in Asian groceries.
• No coconut husk fire: hardwood charcoal, or a very hot grill on a gas barbecue with the lid down, gives good results.
• Coconut milk basting can be replaced by melted butter with lime, though the coconut is what makes the dish read as Pacific.

Variations

• Fish wrapped in banana or breadfruit leaves and buried in the embers instead of grilled open.
• Milkfish poached in coconut milk with onion, the wet-weather version.
• Whole fish salted and sun-dried for a day before grilling, for a firmer, saltier result.

History

Nauruans have long stocked milkfish fry from the reef into brackish Buada Lagoon and wells, a rare Pacific example of traditional aquaculture.

Frequently asked questions

What is Grilled Milkfish?

Grilled Milkfish is a main from Nauru: milkfish raised in Buada Lagoon ponds and grilled whole, aquaculture heritage. Nauruans have long stocked milkfish fry from the reef into brackish Buada Lagoon and wells, a rare Pacific example of traditional aquaculture.

How long does Grilled Milkfish take to make?

Grilled Milkfish takes 30 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Grilled Milkfish?

Yes, within limits. No milkfish: use whole sea bass, mullet or trevally of the same weight, which are far less bony and cook in the same time. Frozen whole milkfish, often sold deboned, is common in Asian groceries. No coconut husk fire: hardwood charcoal, or a very hot grill on a gas barbecue with the lid down, gives good results. Coconut milk basting can be replaced by melted butter with lime, though the coconut is what makes the dish read as Pacific.