Recipes · Indonesian · Seafood

Pempek (Palembang Fish Cakes)

One serving has 720 kcal and 30 g protein, and at least a fifth of a woman's daily need of cobalamin (150%), selenium (103%), vitamin D (D2 + D3) (73%), pyridoxine (55%), phosphorus (49%) and niacin (28%). Ready in 45 minutes.

Pempek (Palembang Fish Cakes)
Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
  • Preparation: 25 min
  • Cooking: 20 min
  • Makes: 1 serving (307 g)
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Diets: Pescatarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, High protein
  • Contains: fish

Ingredients

  • 150 g Spanish mackerel, raw
  • 90 g Tapioca pearls, dry
  • 2 g Salt
  • 5 g Sugar
  • 4 g Garlic, raw
  • 20 g Tamarind pulp
  • 30 g Sugar, brown
  • 6 g Chili peppers, red, raw

Method

  1. Finely mince the mackerel flesh into a smooth paste and mix with the salt and sugar.
  2. Work in the tapioca starch (ground from the tapioca pearls, or use tapioca starch directly) a little at a time, kneading gently until a soft, pliable dough forms; avoid overworking it.
  3. Shape the dough into small torpedo or oval cakes and simmer them in barely bubbling water for 15-20 minutes until they float and firm up, then drain.
  4. For the cuko sauce, simmer the tamarind pulp, palm sugar, garlic and chili with 150 g water for 10 minutes until syrupy, then strain if a smoother sauce is preferred.
  5. Just before serving, shallow-fry the pempek cakes in a little oil until the surface is golden and slightly crisp.
  6. Slice and serve hot, doused generously with the sweet-sour-spicy cuko sauce.

Nutrition per serving

NutrientPer servingShare of a day's need
Energy720 kcal34%
Carbohydrates129 g
Water132 mL
Fiber2 g7%
Protein30.1 g63%
Tryptophan0.33 g
Threonine1.3 g
Isoleucine1.4 g
Leucine2.4 g
Lysine2.7 g
Methionine0.87 g
Cystine0.32 g
Phenylalanine1.1 g
Tyrosine0.98 g
Valine1.5 g
Histidine0.86 g
Fat9.6 g
Monounsaturated2.3 g
Polyunsaturated2.6 g
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)1.5 g
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)0.49 g
Omega-60.18 g
Saturated2.8 g
Trans-Fats0 g
Cholesterol114 mg
Calcium82.8 mg8%
Copper0.15 mg17%
Iron3 mg17%
Magnesium73.9 mg24%
Manganese0.22 mg12%
Phosphorus346 mg49%
Potassium880 mg19%
Selenium56.7 µg103%
Sodium880 mg
Zinc0.94 mg12%
Thiamin (vitamin B1)0.3 mg27%
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)0.3 mg27%
Niacin (vitamin B3)4 mg28%
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)1.4 mg27%
Pyridoxine (vitamin B6)0.71 mg55%
Folate (vitamin B9)9.7 µg2%
Cobalamin (vitamin B12)3.6 µg150%
Choline80.8 mg19%
Vitamin A61.8 µg9%
Vitamin C13 mg17%
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)438 IU73%
Vitamin E1.1 mg7%
Vitamin K1.6 µg2%

Shares of a day's need are for a woman of 30, 165 cm, 60 kg, lightly active, by the US and Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes. SustainBite works out each person's own needs, by the standard where they live: the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations in Norway, the UK's, EFSA's in the EU.

Climate footprint

0.5 kg CO2e a serving: lower than most main dishes on SustainBite. Source: ADEME, Agribalyse 3.2.

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