Grilled Snapper (Palau)

Grilled snapper, Palau style, is a wonderful main dish, for any occasion. Obviously, fish is an abundant staple eaten on the islands' nation of Palau. Red snapper is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, as is the silk snapper that I used for this dish. You can use any fish that swims in Pacific waters for an authentic Palau dish. A few exotic ingredients were used to flavour the fish before it went on the grill. One was, wrapping it in a banana leaf. The banana leaf imparts a wonderful flavour to the fish. If you run the banana leaf quickly over a flame, it actually softens. So when you wrap the fish, the banana leaf will not crack.

1 (3 lb) red snapper, cleaned and scaled
1 (2") piece ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 Tbsp. soy sauce dark mushroom flavoured
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 large banana leaf
1 lime, cut into wedges

Place a piece of foil large enough to wrap up the whole fish.

Quickly run the banana leaf over a flame on the stove to soften it. Place it on top of the foil. Place the whole fish on the banana leaf.

Mix together the soy sauce and the sesame oil in a small bowl. Using a basting brush, cover the underside of the fish on the banana leaf with a bit of the sauce. Also brush the cavity of the fish as well.

Using a sharp knife, make a few slices into the flesh about ½" thick to make a space to place the thin slices of garlic, ginger and kaffir lime leaf.

Place the extra lime leaf and garlic and ginger into the cavity of the fish. Brush the top of the fish with more sauce.

Wrap the whole fish in the banana leaf and then foil so you have a nice package.

Turn the grill on to medium-high heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes turning over once.

Check for a nice tender flaky fish making certain not to overcook it.

Serve with white rice and flavour the rice with any leftover sauce. Garnish with some lime slices.

Makes 4 servings.