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Sri Lankan devilled cod cheeks with sticky coconut rice and chilli coconut sambal
Serves 6-8 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 500g cod cheeks
- 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1tsp chilli flakes
- ½tsp crushed black pepper
- juice 1 lime
- ½tsp smoked hot paprika
- lime wedges, to serve
For the sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 40g piece fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1tsp chilli flakes (or to taste)
- hot smoked paprika, to taste (optional)
- 150g tomato ketchup
- 1tsp caster sugar
- 1 small red onion, chopped into chunky slices
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunky slices
For the coconut sticky rice
- 250g jasmine rice
- 400ml can coconut milk
For the chilli coconut sambal
- 100g fresh coconut, coarsely grated
- 1-2tsp chilli flakes
- zest and juice ½ lime
- pinch sugar
Method
Put the cod cheeks in a large bowl. Mix half the oil, the chilli flakes, crushed black pepper, lime juice and paprika together and toss with the cod cheeks. Season well with sea salt flakes and leave to marinate for around 30 minutes.
Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and fry the cod cheeks for a couple of minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Turn the heat down and make the sauce. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes and paprika, if using. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, until fragrant. Add the tomato ketchup and 100ml water and stir in the sugar. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then leave to simmer very slowly for 4-5 minutes.
Add the onion and pepper to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes or until they are just starting to soften but still have some bite. Return the cod cheeks to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes more.
Meanwhile, put the rice in a pan and add 120ml water and the coconut milk. Stir well and cook over a medium heat for around 12-15 minutes until the rice is cooked. Season with salt and cover.
For the sambal, mix the grated coconut with the chilli flakes, lime zest and juice and sugar. Season with a little salt.
Spoon a little rice into each of the bowls and top with the devilled cod cheeks. Scatter over the sambal and garnish with the lime wedges.
Cook’s note
If you can’t get hold of cod cheeks use nuggets of monkfish instead.
This recipe was taken from the January/February 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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