Recipe facts
- Yield
- About 16 pieces, serving 4–6
- Prep
- 40 minutes
- Cook
- 35 minutes
- Total
- 75 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- Hot (in the sauce)
Allergens Contains fish and egg. Gluten-free if the sago/tapioca flour is uncontaminated.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Cook along
Cook Mode shows this recipe one step at a time, in large type, with the ingredients a tap away and the amounts adjustable for the number you are feeding. It is built for a phone propped up on the counter.
Start Cook ModeDevelopment recipe. Not kitchen-tested. Nothing is saved, and no account is needed.
Your recipes
Ingredients
The dough
- 1 lb (450 g) skinless white fish fillet — Spanish mackerel (tenggiri) is the usual choice — very cold
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) ice-cold water
- 1.5 cups (200 g) sago flour or tapioca starch, plus more for shaping
- 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 tsp (12 g) salt
- 1 tsp (2 g) ground white pepper
- 1 tsp (5 g) sugar
Pempek kapal selam filling (optional)
- 4 eggs, for the 'submarine' version
Cuko (dipping sauce)
- 7 oz (200 g) dark palm sugar (gula jawa), chopped
- 1.5 cups (360 ml) water
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) tamarind concentrate
- 8 cloves garlic
- 6–10 bird's eye chillies
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
- 2 tsp (10 ml) dried shrimp, ground (optional)
To serve
- Neutral oil, for deep-frying
- 1 small cucumber, finely diced
- 3 tbsp (25 g) dried rice noodles, cooked (optional)
Equipment
- Food processor
- Large saucepan
- Deep pan for frying
- Small saucepan for the cuko
- Slotted spoon
Method
- Make the cuko first: simmer the palm sugar and water in a small saucepan until dissolved, about 5 minutes.
- Pound or blend the garlic, chillies and dried shrimp to a paste and add to the pan with the tamarind, vinegar and salt. Simmer 10 minutes, then strain if you prefer it clear. Cool completely — cuko is served cold or at room temperature.
- Process the very cold fish with the ice water to a smooth, sticky paste, 1–2 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl and mix in the garlic, salt, white pepper and sugar.
- Add the sago flour a third at a time, folding it in gently with a spatula or your hand until just combined into a soft, pliable dough. Do not knead.
- With floured hands, shape into torpedoes about 4 in (10 cm) long. For kapal selam, shape a thick cup, crack an egg into it, and seal it closed.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a gentle boil. Lower the pieces in and poach 12–15 minutes; they sink, then float when cooked. Lift out and cool completely.
- Heat 2 in (5 cm) of oil to 350°F/175°C. Fry the cooled pieces 3–4 minutes, turning, until golden and lightly blistered.
- Cut into thick slices, pile into bowls, and pour the cold cuko generously over. Scatter with diced cucumber and add noodles if using.
The Complete Edition
Pempek (Fish Cake w/ Vinegar Sauce) sits in the Indonesia chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Indonesia chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
Available from Amazon
- Kindle edition — $9.99 (Kindle Store price) — available now
- Paperback — $49.99 (print list price) — available now