Pempek

Ingredients

Fish paste

• 500 gikan tenggiri, Spanish mackerel, or any firm white fish, skinned and boned
• 200 mliced water
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 tspwhite pepper

Dough

• 300 gtapioca starch, sago flour

Kapal selam filling

• 6eggs, for the stuffed version

Cuko, the sauce

• 250 gpalm sugar
• 500 mlwater
• 80 gtamarind pulp
• 10bird’s eye chillies
• 8 clovesgarlic
• 2 tbspdried shrimp, optional
• 1 tbspvinegar
• 1 tspsalt

To serve

• diced cucumber
• dried noodles, boiled
• ebi powder

Directions

1. Keep everything cold throughout. The fish, the water and the bowl should all be chilled. Warm fish paste breaks and the texture goes grainy and soft instead of springy. Blend or pound the fish with the iced water, salt, sugar, garlic and pepper into a smooth, sticky, pale paste.
2. Add the iced water gradually and keep the machine short, so friction does not warm the paste. The paste should be tacky and cling to the bowl, which is the sign the proteins have bound properly.
3. Fold the starch in gently with a spatula or your hand, and stop the moment it is combined. Do not knead it. Add the starch by feel rather than by exact weight, because fish varies in moisture. Stop when it just holds a shape.
4. Seal the egg in with no gaps at all, because a leak lets the egg out into the water and the pempek collapses. Bring a large pot of water to a gentle simmer with a spoonful of oil in it. The oil stops them sticking to each other and to the pot.
5. Lift them out and cool them completely, which firms them further. At this stage they keep several days refrigerated or months frozen, and Palembang households always have some.
6. Pound the chillies and garlic to a paste and add them, then the vinegar and salt. Strain it and taste. It should be aggressively sour and hot with sweetness behind it, and it should make you wince slightly.
7. Let the cuko sit at least a few hours, and it is far better the next day. To serve, slice or halve the boiled pempek and fry it in hot oil until golden and blistered. Serve in a bowl with the cuko poured over, topped with diced cucumber and ebi powder. Pour the sauce generously and eat it straight away, while the outside is still crisp.

Technique

• Ikan tenggiri, Spanish mackerel, is the classic fish and ikan gabus, snakehead, is the prized one.
• Boiled pempek freezes extremely well and is fried straight from frozen.
• Palembang is the city it belongs to and locals judge cuko as much as the fishcake.

Substitutions

• Any firm white fish, or tinned mackerel at a distance.
• Sago flour and tapioca starch are the same thing here.

Variations

• Kapal selam, stuffed with a whole egg.
• Adaan, mixed with onion and deep fried directly without boiling.
• Tekwan, the same paste in a clear soup.

History

Palembang fishcake served in a sour tamarind and vinegar sauce, usually linked to Chinese settlers along the Musi river.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pempek?

Pempek is a street food from Indonesia: palembang fish-and-tapioca cakes with dark vinegar-chili cuko. Palembang fishcake served in a sour tamarind and vinegar sauce, usually linked to Chinese settlers along the Musi river.

How long does Pempek take to make?

Pempek takes 1 hr of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 pieces. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Pempek?

Yes, within limits. Any firm white fish, or tinned mackerel at a distance. Sago flour and tapioca starch are the same thing here.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pempek?

Keep everything cold throughout. The fish, the water and the bowl should all be chilled. Warm fish paste breaks and the texture goes grainy and soft instead of springy. Blend or pound the fish with the iced water, salt, sugar, garlic and pepper into a smooth, sticky, pale paste.