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Learn how to make Indonesian style fried fish sticks served with delicious spicy tamarind sauce (saus cuko). The pempek can be deep-fried or air-fried for a healthier version.
Pempek / Mpek Mpek / Empek empek Palembang
Palembang is one of the cities in Indonesia. Pempek is known to be originated from there. Palembang is known for its seafood dishes because of its location and the abundance of seafood. There are several different versions of pempek and my favorite pempek is the pempek ikan (fish sticks). Pempek is usually boiled first and then deep-fried. It will then be sliced into bite-size and served with lightly spicy, sweet and tangy sauce drizzle on top of it. I air-fried or pan-fried mine instead of deep frying and they still turned out pretty good.
Why you will like this pempek ikan Palembang recipe
I’ve tried many many differet pempek ikan recipes throughout the year. I’ve eaten many tough, rubbery, not enough flavor of fish pempek. This wasn’t the kind of pempek I remember having. I like this recipe the best so far because:
1. It has a nice balance between the amount of fish and the tapioca starch
2. The pempek isn’t so chewy and rubbery
3. You definitely don’t need featherback fish (ikan belida) or mackerel (ikan tenggiri) to make pempek ikan, though it is best if you can find either one, but where I am, it’s tough.
You can shape pempek into whatever shapes you like. Here I made pempek lenjer (looks like logs/cylinder) and pempek kapal selam (filled with egg filling inside)
Boiled Pempek kapal selam and pempek lenjer
Pempek Ikan Ingredients
1. Fish
Like I’ve mentioned above, you don’t need featherback fish or mackerel fish to make pempek ikan. Yes, it tastes better with it, but when you don’t live in Asia or where the seafood is abundant, it’s hard to find. I have made this pempek using tilapia fillet (ikan nila) and cod fish. You can pretty much use whatever fish that you like to be honest, just make sure you choose a “lean” fish. I highly encourage using fresh fish and not frozen. The frozen fish will not give you smooth pempek ikan
2. Tapioca starch
Tapioca starch contributes to the “bouncy” and slightly chewy texture. Or in Hokkian we like to call it “QQ”
3. All-purpose flour
Most pempek recipe only uses tapioca starch (and lots of it too, which makes it too chewy). I like the addition of all-purpose flour.
4. Salt, Sugar, and Chicken Bouillon
These three seasonings are a must to make your pempek more flavorful. I actually use better-than-bouillon instead of chicken bouillon
5. Eggs
It’s up to you whether you want to fill the pempek with eggs or not. I made some with eggs inside and some just plain
Ingredients for saus cuko
You can’t eat pempek Palembang without saus cuko. I love this sweet, spicy, tangy saus cuko. It is made with:
1. Palm sugar (gula Jawa)
If you can’t find palm sugar, you can definitely use coconut sugar. If you can’t find coconut sugar, dark brown sugar will be your last resort
2. Tamarind (asam Jawa)
This contributes to the tangy taste of the sauce.
3. Vinegar
I use regular white distilled vinegar
4. Garlic
I suggest using fresh garlic and not the pre-minced garlic that comes in a jar
5. Green Thai chili
You can omit or adjust the amount if you don’t want it spicy or too spicy
How to make pempek ikan Palembang
1. Prepare saus cuko
Put sugar, salt, water, vinegar, and tamarind paste in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar has dissolves.
Strain the mixture. Add the garlic, chili, and bring back to a boil and cook just another minute. Saus cuko is sweet, spicy, and tangy
2. Prepare pempek dough
Cut the fish into small pieces. Freeze them in the freezer for about 40 minutes. They should be partially frozen. Place them in a blender along with salt, sugar, and chicken powder. Blend into a smooth paste
Remove from the food processor into a large bowl. Add tapioca starch and all-purpose flour
Knead into a dough that is just slightly sticky to touch, but it shouldn’t be too sticky. If it is sticky, add just a bit more all-purpose flour but not too much
3. Have a taste test
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pinch of small amount of pempek dough and boil until it cooks through. Have a taste. If you think it needs more salt and/or sugar, add it to the dough and try again until you are happy with the taste
4. Shape the pempek
You can shape pempek into whatever shapes you want. You can shape it into a log to be pempek lenjer, shape it like a disc (pempek gepeng), pempek kapal selam (usually with egg filling inside). I recommend oil your palms during shaping instead of dusting with more flour. The more flour you use, the tougher the pempek going to be
If you want to fill the pempek with egg, crack two eggs into a container with a spout (to make your life easier). Beat the eggs with a fork or use a whisk
Shape the pempek dough into a bowl-like
Then carefully pour in some of the beaten egg. Try not to fill too much (at least not on the first try) or you will have trouble sealing the dough
Then carefully seal the edge tightly. The pempek will roughtly shape like a submarine (kapal selam)
5. Boil the pempek
Bring the large pot of water you boil earlier back to a rolling boil. Carefully add the shaped pempek into the boiling water. Once they float to the top, don’t take them out yet. They are usually not fully cooked yet even though they have floated to the top (I’ve learned my lessons). It depends on the size of the pempek too. You have to take out one and cut it to check and make sure the inside is cooked through
6. Deep fry or air fry the pempek
Preheat about 2-3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom pot. When the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. Put the cooked pempek in and fry until golden brown. Try not to overcrowd the pot. Remove and place on an absorbent paper towel. If you use air fryer like me, brush the pempek with a bit of oil and then air fry at 350 F until lightly golden brown. It won’t be as brown as if you deep fry them, but should be reasonably crispy too
How to serve pempek ikan Palembang
1. Cut the pempek into smaller pieces. Add cubes of fresh cucumber
2. If you want to make it a complete meal, add cooked yellow noodles, or mung bean thread noodles (soun) and generously pour the saus cuko over everything and enjoy!
Did you make this pempek ikan Palembang recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The recipe was first published in 2016 and recently updated on October 29, 2020. Recipe is adapted from here with slight modifications.
Pempek Ikan Palembang Saus Cuko (Indonesian Fish Cakes)
Ingredients
Pempek dough:
- 600 gr fresh boneless skinless mackerel fish or any fresh lean fish of your choice, I use tilapia
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp better-than-bouillon or chicken seasoning powder
- 175 gr tapioca starch
- 100 gr all-purpose flour
Filling: (optional)
- 2 eggs beaten
Dipping sauce (saus cuko):
- 300 gr palm sugar or use coconut sugar
- 750 ml water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and finely minced
- 5 Thai green chili finely minced, omit or more if you like it spicier
Serve with:
- 1 small cucumber seeded and diced
Instructions
Prepare saus cuko:
- Put sugar, salt, water, vinegar, and tamarind paste in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar has dissolves. Strain the mixture. Add the garlic, chili, and bring back to a boil and cook just another minute. Saus cuko is sweet, spicy, and tangy
Prepare pempek dough:
- Cut the fish into small pieces. Freeze them in the freezer for about 40 minutes. They should be partially frozen. Place them in a blender along with salt, sugar, and chicken powder. Blend into a smooth paste
- Remove from the food processor into a large bowl. Add tapioca starch and all-purpose flour. Knead into a dough that is just slightly sticky to touch, but it shouldn't be too sticky. If it is sticky, add just a bit more all-purpose flour but not too much
Have a taste test:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pinch of small amount of pempek dough and boil until it cooks through. Have a taste. If you think it needs more salt and/or sugar, add it to the dough and try again until you are happy with the taste
Shape the pempek:
- You can shape pempek into whatever shapes you want. You can shape it into a log to be pempek lenjer, shape it like a disc (pempek gepeng), pempek kapal selam (usually with egg filling inside). I recommend oil your palms during shaping instead of dusting with more flour. The more flour you use, the tougher the pempek going to be
- If you want to fill the pempek with egg, crack two eggs into a container with a spout (to make your life easier). Beat the eggs with a fork or use a whisk. Shape the pempek dough into a bowl-like and then carefully pour in some of the beaten egg. Try not to fill too much (at least not on the first try) or you will have trouble sealing the dough. Then carefully seal the edge tightly. The pempek will roughtly shape like a submarine (kapal selam)
Boil the pempek:
- Bring the large pot of water you boil earlier back to a rolling boil. Carefully add the shaped pempek into the boiling water. Once they float to the top, don't take them out yet. They are usually not fully cooked yet even though they have floated to the top (I've learned my lessons). It depends on the size of the pempek too. You have to take out one and cut it to check and make sure the inside is cooked through
- Let the pempek cools down before proceeding to deep frying
When ready to serve:
- Preheat about 2-3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom pot. When the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. Put the cooked pempek in and fry until golden brown. Try not to overcrowd the pot. Remove and place on an absorbent paper towel
- You can also use an air fryer. I lightly brush the pempek with a bit of oil and then place them in the air fryer basket and fry at 350 F (180 C) until slightly golden brown, about 5 minutes or so. The time is just a reference, it depends on your air fryer too. It won't be as browned as if you deep fry them, but it should give you that crispy crust too. You will do this in several batches
How to serve pempek:
- Cut the pempek into smaller pieces. Add cubes of fresh cucumber. If you want to make it a complete meal, add cooked yellow noodles, or mung bean thread noodles (soun) and generously pour the saus cuko over everything and enjoy!
You might also like this pempek ayam made with chicken meat.
12 comments
Hi! I was wondering if I can omit the tamarind paste from the cuko?
Hi Louisa, yes you can. The tamarind adds a nice aroma to the cuko, but if you don’t have one, you can adjust the “sourness” using vinegar.