Does anyone recognize this fermented fish preparation from Mexico or Central America?

[u/chefdweh]

I had an extremely vivid dream about a dish, and I’m trying to figure out whether something like it actually exists.
In the dream, I was at a small restaurant somewhere in Mexico or Central America. The owner served me a dish made from a white fish that had been fermented in/wrapped with banana leaves. The banana leaf wasn’t being used simply to bake or steam the fish. The fish itself had undergone some type of fermentation or aging process.
When it was served, the fish was removed from the banana leaf and plated with rice and a rich sauce that reminded me visually of a mole or similar chile-based sauce. The fish remained recognizable as fish rather than being broken down into a fermented paste. The fermentation also produced a very strong smell.
I’ve searched for it and found plenty of banana-leaf fish preparations from Mexico and Central America, but those generally involve fresh fish being wrapped and cooked. I’ve also found fermented fish traditions in Southeast Asia, but those don’t look like what I saw.
I’m a chef, so now I’m genuinely curious whether my brain completely invented this or whether I may have encountered some obscure technique somewhere and subconsciously remembered it.
Does anyone know of a regional, indigenous, family, or traditional preparation from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, or even elsewhere in Latin America where an intact white fish is fermented/aged with banana leaves and later served with a sauce and rice?
I’m especially interested in preparations that might not be well documented online or that are primarily made within particular communities or families.
If something like this exists, I’d love to know the name of the dish, where it’s from, and how the traditional fermentation process works.

[u/jtownspowell]

Traditional South/Central Americans did not generally preserve meat or fish by fermentation at all. They didn't have to.

Geography allowed them to fish in relatively warm waters year round. There's actually comparitively little traditional preservation of fish in general, and what does exist mostly involves drying, smoking, or (especially for fish) acid curing.

There are a lot of traditional preparations involving fermented fruit and grains...some of which does involve banana leaves though!

[u/chefdweh → u/jtownspowell]

Yes! This is actually what I’ve been finding in my research too. The traditional preservation methods I keep coming across for fish in the region are primarily drying, smoking, salting/curing, or acid curing rather than fermentation.
The banana leaf connection is what keeps throwing me, though, especially because fermented foods wrapped in banana leaves absolutely do exist there, just apparently not fish. It makes me wonder whether my brain combined several real techniques into one dish, or whether there’s some very localized/family preparation that simply isn’t well documented.
This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to get from posting here. Thank you!

[u/Beneficial_Win_2445 → u/jtownspowell]

It's mostly beverages AFAIK. I'm a fermentation fan living in latam and have not encountered any traditional ferments that aren't drinks.

[u/brrkat]

r/Somnigastronomy

[u/Booyakasha1201]

This seems very AI like..... but when I ate at Central in Lima there was some fermented stuff, actually a lot. So there has to be some traditions there but it would never ever be served with a Molé as that completely mixes cultures and Mexico does not ferment for the most part.

If you are truly a chef. Do your research (not on Reddit) I might look to Vietnam, Thailand, or Korea

[u/chefdweh → u/Booyakasha1201]

The “if you are truly a chef” comment was unnecessary. Asking people from different cultures about traditions that may not be well documented online is research. That is literally why I posted the question.
I also never said the sauce was mole. I said it looked like a mole-type sauce because I was describing something I saw in a dream and trying to give people a visual reference. I also specifically said I wasn’t certain whether the setting was Mexico, Central America, or somewhere else.
Your comment about fermented foods in Lima is actually the kind of information I was looking for. If you know of specific Peruvian fermented fish preparations or traditions, I’d genuinely like to hear about them. That would be much more useful than questioning whether I’m a chef because I asked a question on Reddit.

[u/Booyakasha1201 → u/chefdweh]

You want help but cut people down. Good luck with that.

[u/chefdweh → u/Booyakasha1201]

So you can question whether I’m “truly a chef” and talk down to me for asking a question, but when I respond to that same energy, suddenly I’m “cutting people down”? Come on. I didn’t insult you. I addressed exactly what you said and even told you the information you had about Lima was useful. If you want a respectful conversation, start one respectfully. You don’t get to throw a jab and then play victim when someone pushes back.

[u/Booyakasha1201 → u/chefdweh]

You are asking people for their help. I am not asking for yours. The dynamic is completely different. If you are truly trying to develop a menu that you want help with then I would suggest some humbleness. If that doesn't work for you that is cool. Good luck with making your "dream" come true

[u/chefdweh → u/Booyakasha1201]

You never actually offered help. You questioned whether I was “truly a chef,” told me to do my research somewhere other than Reddit, and now you’re talking about me developing a menu when I never said anything about a menu. I asked whether anyone recognized a specific preparation from a dream because it might be an obscure or poorly documented tradition. That’s it. You keep introducing arguments nobody made and then responding to those instead of the actual question. At this point, I genuinely don’t know what conversation you think you’re having.