Air Fryer Pempek

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.

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.

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:

Tempat Makan Pempek Di Jalan Golf Palembang, Ada Pempek Dos Cabe Buatan Rada, Per Kotak 10 Ribu

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)

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

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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.

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

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

Resep Pempek Ayam Mercon, Olahan Kudapan Khas Palembang Yang Rasa Pedasnya Begitu Nendang Di Lidah

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

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

Resep Pempek Belah Indomie, Kreasi Unik Dengan Bahan Sederhana Buat Pempek Palembang, Dijamin Enak

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

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

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

Peluang Bisnis Pempek Dan Analisa Usahanya Toko Mesin Maksindo

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

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

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

Resep Pempek Frozen Airfryer Mito

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

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!

I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @ # on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!

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The recipe was first published in 2016 and recently updated on October 29, 2020. Recipe is adapted from here with slight modifications.

Marvellina is a food blogger, recipe developer, photographer, and publisher at What To Cook Today. A food blog that brings you tried and true Asian recipes.