← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 400 g mackerel (tenggiri) or firm white fish fillet, skinned, boned and minced
• 8 Shallot
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 8 Dried chillies, soaked and drained
• 2 sticks lemongrass stalks, sliced
• 2 cm piece Galangal
• 2 cm piece fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp ground)
• 3 candlenuts or macadamias
• 1 tsp belacan, toasted
• 1 Eggs
• 150 ml Coconut milk
• 4 Makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, very finely shredded
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 12 pieces banana leaf pieces (20 x 15 cm), softened over a flame

Method

1. Blend all the spice paste ingredients until very smooth, adding a splash of the coconut milk to help the blades.
2. In a bowl, beat the minced fish with a wooden spoon for 2 min until springy. Add the spice paste, egg, coconut milk, lime leaf, sugar, salt and cornflour and mix hard in one direction until thick and smooth.
3. Cook a teaspoon of the mix in a small pan to taste it, then adjust the salt and sugar.
4. Spread about 2 heaped tablespoons along the middle of each banana leaf, fold the long sides over to make a flat parcel and pin both ends with toothpicks.
5. Grill the parcels over charcoal, on a griddle pan or under a hot grill for 5–6 min on each side, until the leaves are charred and the custard is firm and springy when pressed.
6. Unwrap at the table and eat with rice, or with bread as a snack.

Tips

• No banana leaves? Steam the mixture in foil cups for 12–15 min (Nyonya-style otak-otak) instead.
• Contains fish, egg and shellfish (belacan). Candlenuts are tree nuts and must never be eaten raw, so blend them into the paste and cook it fully.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Nomadette What To Cook Today The Meatmen