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Otak-Otak – Grilled Fish in Banana Leaf
In Malaysia and Singapore you know Otak-Otak as small, flat packets from the charcoal grill. Inside is a soft mousse of fish, coconut milk and a paste of chili, shallots and shrimp paste. The banana leaf protects the mixture and gives off a smoky aroma while grilling. The kaffir lime leaves add freshness. You eat Otak-Otak as a snack straight from the leaf or with nasi lemak.
Otak-Otak – Grilled Fish in Banana Leaf
Laura Chen
4
40 minutes
20 minutes
240
Malaysian
Snack
Otak-Otak is a Malaysian fish mousse with coconut milk and chili paste that you wrap in banana leaves and grill. The mixture turns orange-red and soft and smells of kaffir lime. Unlike pepes ikan, where a whole fish steams in the leaf, here you blend the fish.
Ingredients
For the spice paste:
- 6 dried chilies, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
- 4 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 stalk lemongrass, pale part only
- 2 cm galangal (a sharp relative of ginger)
- 3 candlenuts (kemiri, oily nuts used as a binder)
- 1 tsp belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the fish mixture:
- 500 g firm white fish fillet, e.g. cod or pollock, boneless
- 100 ml coconut milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, cut into fine strips
For wrapping:
- 4 large banana leaves, cut into 16 pieces of 15 x 20 cm
- 16 toothpicks
Instructions
- Toast the candlenuts and belacan in a dry pan for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Blend them with the chilies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and oil into a fine paste.
- Cut the fish into pieces and blend it in a blender for 1 minute to a smooth mixture.
- Add the spice paste, coconut milk, egg, cornstarch, sugar and salt and blend for 30 seconds, until the mixture is orange-red and sticky. Stir in the kaffir lime strips.
- Pass the banana leaves briefly over a gas flame or scald them with hot water until they look darker and glossy and become pliable. Wipe them dry.
- Spread 2 tbsp of the fish mixture as a flat strip in the center of a piece of leaf. Fold the long sides over it and pin the ends with toothpicks.
- Grill the packets over charcoal or in a grill pan over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side. The leaves may get scorch marks, but the mixture must be firm.
- Open one packet to test. If the fish is no longer glassy inside, you can serve them all.
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