In the evening, a savory smoke of scorching leaves rises from the charcoal at a seaside eatery. On the grill are fish fillets wrapped in banana leaf. Open the leaf and a sweet-sour tamarind aroma wafts up, and basil and green and red chiles are scattered over the grilled fish. This is ikan sabuko, a fish dish from Timor-Leste (East Timor), an island nation in Southeast Asia.
Grilling tamarind fish on an island shore
Timor-Leste occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, just east of Indonesia. Its capital, Dili, is on the sea, and the country's tourism board presents the seafront eateries that grill the day's catch and serve it with a cold drink, and the lively roadside stalls, as the pleasures of eating in this city. One of the traditional dishes the tourism board lists is fish grilled with tamarind and basil, ikan sabuko. "Ikan" means fish in Indonesian and Malay. The basic form is to marinate Spanish mackerel (a member of the mackerel family) in tamarind, then grill it with basil and chiles.
Food in Timor-Leste has been shaped by its long history as a Portuguese colony and by the influence of neighboring countries, Indonesia above all. The food blog Am Carmen's Kitchen, which presents ikan sabuko, notes that mackerel is a fish familiar from Portuguese cooking too, and sees a trace of Portuguese flavor in this dish. The combination of tamarind's sourness, the heat of chiles and the aroma of basil is a flavor typical of Southeast Asian islands.
On the Australian food site SBS Food, the Timorese chef César Gaio says that cooking with wood is life itself in this country. The article describes "ikan saboko," fish fillets wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over a grate, as often served with "katupa," rice cooked in a pouch woven from palm leaf. Both "sabuko" and "saboko" are used as spellings.
Served with the grilled fish is a sauce called budu. It is a raw sauce of tomato, mint, lime and red onion that freshly takes up the richness of the grilled fish. The same SBS article also describes a hot pickle made with salt, lime juice, garlic and chile, called "budu ai manas," as indispensable on a grilled-food plate. People in Timor-Leste can't live without chile, Gaio says with a laugh.
What to know when making it in a home kitchen
Happily, the star fish of ikan sabuko is easy to find. In place of the mackerel relative used in Timor-Leste, you can use Spanish mackerel fillets from an ordinary fish counter. Am Carmen's Kitchen's recipe says to use whatever fish you can get at your local market, so mackerel, yellowtail or cod fillets are fine too. This article follows the marinade and cooking of that recipe, in a form wrapped in banana leaf, which is readily available.
Tamarind is the pulp inside the pods of a tree in the legume family, with a sweet-sour taste something like umeboshi. Asian grocers and online shops sell ready-to-use paste and blocks pressed with the seeds and fibers. Paste is the easy choice. If you use a block, soften it in hot water and strain out the seeds and fibers.
Calamansi is a small citrus used in the Philippines and elsewhere, and the juice is sold in bottles. If you can't get it, the juice of lime, sudachi or kabosu has a fresh sourness that suits it well.
Frozen banana leaf is available at Asian grocers and online. Wrapping in leaf steams the fish as it grills, keeps it moist and carries the scorched aroma of the leaf into it. If you can't get it, wrapping in aluminum foil works. Am Carmen's Kitchen's recipe wraps the fish in aluminum foil and turmeric leaf.
Ingredients (serves 4)
After chopping chiles, don't rub your eyes or face with your hands. If you are sensitive to heat, remove the seeds and pith to soften the spiciness. People with a fish allergy should avoid this dish.
How to make ikan sabuko
The marinade takes 30–45 minutes, but the cooking takes only about 15. If you prepare the budu and the banana leaf while the fish marinates, all that's left is to grill.
The tamarind marinade soaks into the flesh side better than the skin side. Keep the marinade to 45 minutes at most. If it marinates too long, the acid tightens the surface of the flesh white and the fish tends to come out dry.
If you use a broiler or fish grill, put the packages on the rack and cook over medium heat for 10–12 minutes. If the leaf scorches too much, lay aluminum foil over the top. In a skillet with a lid, cook over medium heat the same way.
When you pass the banana leaf over the flame, keep it away from the fire and move quickly so the leaf doesn't catch. The cooked packages are full of hot steam, so don't put your face close when you open the leaf; use scissors or tongs.
Sweet-sour fish and a fresh budu
In the finished ikan sabuko, the tamarind's sourness tightens the fat of the fish, and the flavor is sweet-sour and savory. Top it with the tomato and mint budu and your mouth feels fresh, ready for the next bite. If you like it hot, add more chile.
Eating it with rice is the basic way. Timor-Leste also has a simple dish called "batar da'an," simmered corn, beans and pumpkin, and the tourism board lists it as one of the traditional dishes too. Serving a simmered pumpkin dish alongside makes a combination closer to an island table. For other Southeast Asian grilled fish, it is fun to compare with Malaysia's ikan bakar (in Japanese) or Bali's sate lilit (in Japanese).
The name budu can also mean a fermented fish sauce on the Malay Peninsula. Am Carmen's Kitchen presents as budu a fermented anchovy sauce combined with calamansi juice, chile and red onion. Timor-Leste's budu is often presented as a raw sauce of tomato and mint, so this article makes that one.
Ways to vary it
Make it with fatty mackerel fillets in place of Spanish mackerel and the tamarind's sourness goes well with the fat, for a richer flavor. Wrapped in aluminum foil and cooked on a fish grill, it's easy to make without banana leaf. Laying basil on the inside of the foil transfers the aroma well.
Adding 1 clove of grated garlic to the marinade makes the aroma stronger. If you're barbecuing over charcoal, put the packages on the grate and turn them occasionally. Even if the leaf scorches black, the fish inside is steamed.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a substitute for tamarind paste?
1 tbsp of strained umeboshi (pickled plum) flesh mixed with 1 tsp sugar comes close in sweet-sour direction. The plum flesh is very salty, though, so leave out the salt. 1 tbsp black vinegar and 1 tsp sugar also gives a sweet-sour marinade.
Can I make it with bone-in fish?
Yes. If you use a whole small fish, cut 2–3 slashes in the thick part so the marinade soaks in, extend the cooking to about 8 minutes per side, and check that the heat has reached around the bones.
Can I make it ahead?
Once the grilled fish has cooled slightly, put it in a storage container, refrigerate, and finish it by the next day. The budu releases water from the tomato, so it's best eaten the day you make it. When reheating, don't overheat it in the microwave or the fish turns tough; use short bursts.
Sources
- Timor-Leste Tourism, “Timor Leste Food and Local Dining Experiences.” Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://www.timorleste.tl/what-to-do/eating-drinking
- SBS Food, Yasmin Noone, “You could learn a lot about barbecuing from Timor-Leste.” 12 June 2023. Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/you-could-learn-a-lot-about-barbecuing-from-timor-leste/63sh5wtbv
- Am Carmen's Kitchen, “Ikan Sabuko (Grilled Tamarind Fish).” 31 March 2021. Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://amcarmenskitchen.com/2021/03/31/ikan-sabuko-grilled-tamarind-fish/
- Wikipedia, “Cuisine of Timor-Leste.” Accessed and checked 22 October 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Timor-Leste
