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Pempek de Palembang

Name: Pempek de Palembang
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: ID
Ingredients: 400 g skinless, boneless firm white fish fillet (mackerel, wahoo or cod), very cold, cut into chunks; 250 ml ice-cold water; 1 tsp fine salt; 1/2 tsp sugar; 300 g tapioca starch, plus extra for dusting; 2 litres water, for boiling; 1 litre vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 150 g palm sugar (gula merah), chopped; 400 ml water, for the cuko sauce; 2 tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 60 ml warm water and strained; 6 cloves garlic; 8–12 bird's eye chillies (cabai rawit), or to taste; 1 tbsp white vinegar; 1 tsp salt, for the sauce; 1 small cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks, to serve

35m

Prépa

45m

Cuisson

Portions

Moyen

Difficulté

Gâteaux de poisson et de tapioca frits, servis avec une sauce cuko aigre-douce et pimentée.

#indonesian#snack#fish#street-food#palembang#tapioca#spicy#fried

Portions

6portions

Ingrédients

Nutrition

calories320

protein15g

carbs48g

fat9g

fiber1g

Par portion

Étapes

Blend the fish

Pat the fish very dry and blend it with the cold water and 1 tsp salt in a food processor until you get a smooth, pale, almost mousse-like paste. Keeping the fish and water cold is the key step here — a warm paste turns gummy instead of springy once cooked.

400 g fish fillet
250 ml ice-cold water
1 tsp salt

✅ C'est prêt quand : the paste is smooth and pale pink, with no visible chunks of fish

Make the dough

Tip the fish paste into a wide bowl, sprinkle over the sugar and the tapioca starch, and mix with your hand just until it comes together into a soft, slightly sticky dough. Stop as soon as it holds together — overworking the dough squeezes out the air and makes the pempek dense and chewy instead of light and springy.

1/2 tsp sugar
300 g tapioca starch

✅ C'est prêt quand : the dough holds its shape and no longer clings heavily to your fingers

Shape and poach

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Make the cuko sauce

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Fry until golden

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Serve

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Blend the fish

400 g fish fillet
250 ml ice-cold water
1 tsp salt

✅ C'est prêt quand : the paste is smooth and pale pink, with no visible chunks of fish

Make the dough

1/2 tsp sugar
300 g tapioca starch

✅ C'est prêt quand : the dough holds its shape and no longer clings heavily to your fingers

Shape and poach

This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.

Make the cuko sauce

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Fry until golden

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Serve

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History & Culture

The Story Behind the Dish

📍 Palembang, South Sumatra📅 Likely developed in the early 20th century🐟 ID

Pempek was born in Palembang, a port city on the Musi River that had long been a crossroads for Chinese traders and local Malay communities. The combination of abundant river fish and tapioca starch, likely shaped by Chinese fish-cake traditions, grew into a snack unique to the region.

Over the decades pempek spread far beyond its home city, carried by trade and migration, until it became one of the most recognizable snacks sold in markets and food stalls across Indonesia. Palembang is still regarded as its spiritual home, and the dish remains central to the city's identity today.

⭐ Why It's Famous

Pempek is Palembang's most famous dish and one of Indonesia's best-loved street snacks, instantly recognizable for its chewy, fish-rich texture and its sharp, dark cuko sauce. It is now eaten and sold all over Indonesia, with countless shapes and fillings, but the Palembang version remains the benchmark.

💡 Fun Fact

One popular story traces the name pempek to "apek", a term once used for older Chinese-Indonesian men, since the snack is said to have first been peddled around Palembang by Chinese sellers on bicycles.

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