Name: Pempek (Palembang Fish Cakes)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 250 g Boneless Fish Fillets, white fish, very cold; ¾ cup Tapioca Starch, plus more for shaping; 1 Egg, for binding; 3 clove Garlic, minced; ¾ tsp Salt, for fish dough; ½ tsp Sugar, for fish dough; 1½ cup Cooking Oil, for frying; 2 tbsp Palm Sugar, chopped for cuko sauce; 1 tbsp Tamarind Paste, for cuko sauce; ¾ tsp Red Chilli Powder, adjust to taste; 1 tsp Soy Sauce, optional depth for sauce; ½ Cucumber, diced for serving

55 mintotal

Prep 30 min · Cook 25 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Hard
Spice: Medium

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Method

Blend or mince the cold fish with garlic, salt, sugar, and egg until sticky and smooth.
Fold in the tapioca starch gradually until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
Dust your hands with extra tapioca starch and shape the dough into small logs or oval cakes.
Simmer the fish cakes in water until they float and feel firm, then drain well.
For the cuko sauce, simmer palm sugar, tamarind paste, red chilli powder, soy sauce, and a little water until glossy and balanced.
Heat the measured cooking oil and fry the boiled fish cakes until lightly crisp outside.
Slice the fish cakes and serve with cuko sauce and diced cucumber.

How to tell it's done

Pempek should be springy inside, lightly crisp outside, and balanced by a sweet-sour-spicy sauce.

Getting it right

Tip

Keep the fish cold while mixing; warm fish paste can become loose and harder to shape.

What to serve it with

Serve as a snack with plenty of cuko sauce and fresh cucumber.

Common mistakes

The fish dough turns loose or tough.: Keep the fish very cold, add tapioca gradually, and stop mixing once the dough is sticky and shapeable.

Substitutions

Use any mild white fish fillet that can form a sticky paste; oily fish will change the texture.
Do not replace tapioca starch fully with wheat flour because pempek needs its bouncy texture.
Omit soy sauce from the cuko sauce if a gluten-free version is needed, but verify all other packaged ingredients.
For egg-free versions, this recipe needs retesting because egg affects binding.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate boiled unfried pempek for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Fry just before serving; keep cuko sauce refrigerated for up to 1 week.

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Ingredients