Recipe: Oven-baked whole fish (barramundi) with lemon and dill

After posting my recipe for oven-baked "fried" chicken the other day, I got talking to a friend, and she asked how I could survive without deep frying food in the kitchen. She told me that her kids like deep fried fish very much, and asked how I usually cook fish for my kids. 

For the kids, I usually steam the fish and more recently, bake them in the oven. When the fish is very fresh, you can almost cook it naked, but of course, a little lemon and dill complements it well. I also like to squeeze some of the lemon juice at the stomach area to get rid of any "fishy" smells. 

Oven-baked barramundi (siakap) with lemon and dill

So ridiculously simple, but tastes so good. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the fish, but you will know it is done if a skewer (or sharp knife) inserted in the thickest part goes all the way through. To serve, I made a simple dip using lightly browned garlic, cooking oil and soy sauce. The kids love this and all throughout dinnertime, they were asking for more :)

This will work with most types of whole fish, but I chose to use barramundi (siakap) as it is readily available in Malaysia and the flesh stays moist after oven-baking.

Healthy, simple and delicious

Moist flesh

Oven-baked barramundi (siakap) with lemon and dill
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 2-3 minutes
Cooking time: 25-28 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
800-900g siakap/ barramundi / sea perch
1 lemon, washed
3 stalks dill
1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the dip
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce


1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Clean the fish thoroughly, rub some salt in the stomach area and rinse with water. Pat dry with kitchen towel.

2. Cut the lemon into half. Slice one half of the lemon into thin slices.

3. Line a baking tray with foil. Drizzle olive oil over fish, coating both sides well. Stuff the stomach area with the lemon slices and dill. Squeeze the juice of the remaining half all over the fish (including stomach area). Season with salt and pepper.

4. Place the fish in preheated oven and cook for 25-28 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the thickest part goes all the way through.

5. While fish is cooking, make the dip. Heat the oil in a wok/frying pan over medium high heat then add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly browned. Remove, along with oil into a small bowl. Add the light soy sauce and mix.

6. Serve the fish hot with the soy sauce dip.

Do check out my recipe for oven-baked salmon trout done two ways - Asian and Western style.


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