Pais — South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Pais is a wrapped dish built around a piece of fish coated in a ground spice paste, folded into a banana leaf parcel and cooked by steaming or grilling until the leaf browns and the filling turns tender and fragrant. It is reported from South Kalimantan, where the banana leaf parcel is a common way of cooking fish and other proteins along the region's rivers, keeping the filling moist while carrying the aroma of the leaf into the food. To prepare it, shallots, garlic, turmeric, ginger, chili and candlenut are ground into a paste and mixed with a little salt, then rubbed over pieces of fish along with slices of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf. Each portion is wrapped tightly in a piece of banana leaf, secured with a toothpick, and either steamed until the fish is cooked through or grilled over low coals until the leaf chars lightly and the parcel takes on a smoky note. What distinguishes this version is the choice of river fish and the balance of the spice paste, milder than a fried dish since the closed leaf traps the steam and lets the fish cook gently in its own juices. Cooks vary the chili level and choose between steaming for a softer result or grilling for a smokier one.