Indonesian & Malaysian

Serving

Pempek

Name: Pempek
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Indonesian & Malaysian
Ingredients: 500g minced Spanish mackerel (tenggiri); 300g tapioca starch; 1 egg; cuko sauce (palm sugar; tamarind; garlic; bird's eye chili)

Chewy, savory fish cakes from Palembang, served with a sweet-sour-spicy cuko vinegar sauce — a unique snack unlike anything else.

60 minutes

Serves 3

Snack

21 min prep

33 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg Fish Seafood

In the app, Listahan checks these against your household automatically.

Instructions

6 steps

1
In a large bowl, gradually mix the minced fish with tapioca starch, salt, and water until a pliable dough forms.
2
Take a handful of dough and shape it into a cylinder (lenjer) or form a pocket to crack a small egg inside (kapal selam).
3
Gently boil the shaped fishcakes in a large pot of water until they float to the top, then drain and let them cool completely.
4
Prepare the cuko sauce by boiling palm sugar, tamarind juice, crushed garlic, and chilies until slightly reduced and pungent.
5
Deep-fry the boiled fishcakes in hot oil over medium-high heat until the outside is crispy and golden brown.
6
Cut the fried pempek into bite-sized pieces and serve drenched in the sweet, sour, and spicy cuko sauce.

Pempek — plated and served — Serving moment. How Pempek looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

60/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 70

Kid-friendly 27

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 44

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

725

Calories

44 g

Protein

75 g

Carbs

27 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Pempek is a savory fish cake from Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, with origins attributed to Chinese immigrants who adapted local fish with tapioca flour to create a distinctive chewy dumpling. The dish has been eaten in Palembang since at least the 17th century and is inseparable from its sour, palm-sugar-sweetened black vinegar dipping sauce called cuko. Pempek comes in many shapes — the most famous being kapal selam (submarine), which is stuffed with a raw egg that cooks inside during frying.

Listahan note

This version makes the kapal selam style — an egg-stuffed oval pempek — along with the essential cuko dipping sauce that defines the dish and should be served generously.

Technique cues

Use very fresh mackerel or tenggiri (wahoo) for the best flavor and texture — the fish must be processed fresh and cold since warm fish produces a grainy, soft cake that will not hold together during frying.
Do not overwork the fish paste after adding the tapioca flour — mix only until the flour is incorporated, as overworking develops too much starch binding and produces a rubbery rather than chewy texture.
Boil the pempek before frying rather than frying directly from raw — the boiling stage ensures the egg inside is safe to eat and sets the cake structure so the outside fries up evenly without splitting.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Make and refrigerate the cuko sauce first (it needs to cool before serving); then shape and boil the pempek while the sauce is resting.
Make-ahead: Boiled pempek can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before frying; fry only what you will eat immediately for the best texture.
Leftover move: Leftover fried pempek can be sliced and added to a light broth with noodles and cucumber for a pempek soup variation popular in Palembang.
Cleanup rhythm: Use the same pot for boiling all the pempek before cleaning and using it for the sauce; fry in a deep, narrow pot to minimize oil splatter.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

Spanish mackerel or firm white fish

main protein and cake body

Purpose: A firm, low-moisture fish provides the protein structure that holds the cake together and produces the characteristic bouncy, slightly chewy texture.

Handling: Process the raw fish in a food processor until it forms a smooth paste; do not add any liquid — the fish's own moisture is sufficient.

Adaptation: Canned tuna, well-drained and processed, can work as an accessible substitute though the texture will be softer.

tapioca flour

binding and texture agent

Purpose: Tapioca flour is responsible for the characteristic chewiness of pempek — it creates a gluten-free elastic structure when mixed with the fish paste.

Handling: Sift before adding to ensure even incorporation without lumps.

Adaptation: Potato starch can substitute but produces a less chewy, slightly denser result.

palm sugar

sweetness in cuko sauce

Purpose: Palm sugar provides the dark, slightly smoky sweetness of the cuko dipping sauce that balances the vinegar and chili.

Handling: Melt in water over low heat before adding the other sauce ingredients.

Adaptation: Dark brown sugar or a combination of regular sugar and a touch of molasses can approximate the caramel depth of palm sugar.

rice vinegar or palm vinegar

tartness in cuko sauce

Purpose: The sour note of the cuko is the defining flavor of the dish; pempek eaten without the sauce is incomplete.

Handling: Combine with palm sugar, garlic, and chili while warm so the flavors meld.

Adaptation: Apple cider vinegar provides a close level of acidity with a slightly fruitier note.

Technique notes

Wet your hands with cold water when shaping the fish paste — the paste is sticky and cold hands prevent it from warming up and breaking down while you work.
The cuko sauce should taste aggressively sour, sweet, and spicy when you first make it — it mellows considerably when poured over the fried pempek and mixed with the egg inside.
Fry the pempek in oil at 350F until the exterior is golden and just crisp — higher temperatures crack the skin before the inside heats through.

Ingredient swaps

Gluten-free direction: Pempek is naturally gluten-free as it uses tapioca flour rather than wheat; just ensure any condiments added to the cuko are wheat-free.
Egg-free direction: Make lenjer pempek — a log shape without the egg stuffing — which is equally traditional and requires no modification to the fish paste recipe.

Serve alongside

Julienned cucumber tossed in the cuko sauce
Steamed jasmine rice
Ebi (dried shrimp) powder sprinkled over the top
Iced jasmine tea
Teh botol (Indonesian sweet tea)

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Boiled (unfried) pempek keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days; fry to order for best texture.
Cuko sauce keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks in a sealed jar — the flavor continues to develop and most people find it better after the first day.

Equipment

Food processor for fish paste
Large pot for boiling
Deep frying pot and thermometer for frying

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