Guilt-free Crispy Ikan Bilis (anchovies)

My children simply loves anything crunchy and crispy- from crispy fish skin, chicken skin to fried ikan bilis. I have recently read a recipe online in noobcook blog and there was this crispy baked ikan bilis recipe which I had to try because I do not like to cook dishes with lots of oil. My helper usually fries the ikan bilis with lots of oil which I feel so sinful eating and seeing the oil go to waste like that.

So this recipe is simple, guilt-free and ends up with the same crunchy, crispy result. So why not?

Ingredients
- dried anchovies (the ones that are cut in halves already with the bones)

Steps
1) Wash the anchovies for two rounds to remove most of the salt content
2) Pat dry them and lay them out on the baking tray
3) Air dry it for about an hour
4) Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
5) Place the baking try with ikan bilis inside for 10 mins

6) Take out the tray and use a spatula to just toss it around so that the ikan bilis get evenly browned on all sides
7) Turn up the oven to 200 degrees Celsius for just 5 more mins and it should be done! How brown you want it is simply up to you..

After that, I let it cool down for 10 mins before placing it into a zip lock bag which I eventually placed it in the airtight container.

Great compliment for your lunch or dinner!You can also pound this up into powder to make a soup base stock for your porridge or noodles as well. Very nutritious!

Enjoy!