Fish Wrapped In Banana Leaves

Oh, this one is good!!!  I love using banana leaves to cook with, because they add a wonderful and unique herby almost tea like flavor to the food you wrap in them.  We also like to eat fish, but fish dishes often seem quite similar to one another and can be boring.  Not this one.  It is delightful.  You can find banana leaves in the freezer section of most any Asian market.  They cost under $1 at my store - and there are enough leaves to wrap 2 meals in.  I always keep a couple packs in my freezer.

Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaves

6 large banana leaves

2 fresh red chiles or 2 tsp chili paste

2 sticks lemon grass, outer leaves removed, centers finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 handfuls fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

2 limes, juiced and zested

1 can coconut milk

2 Tbs sesame oil

1 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs fresh ginger, finely sliced

6 pieces white fish (tilapia is what we usually use)

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Rinse banana leaves with water and pat dry.  Cut leaves into 10-12 inch sections.  To make banana leaves more pliable, hold for a few seconds over a gas flame.

3. Blend all ingredients except the fish and leaves in a food processor to make a thick paste. Spoon some on to each banana leaf. Place fish on top then spoon more paste over. Bring in sides of leaf and secure with a toothpick.

4. Place leaves on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

5. Serve with rice.  Any rice will do, but we prefer it with sweet rice (click here for the Sticky Rice with Bananas & Mangos recipe I used this time - it was super easy and wonderful!)

Now the last time I made this I was out of lemongrass (which I also buy lots of at my asian market, cut up and keep frozen), so I made it without the lemongrass and it still tasted wonderful!  However, it blended up more as a sauce than a paste without the lemongrass in it.