Indonesian · snack

Pempek (Palembang Fish Cake)

Name: Pempek (Palembang Fish Cake)
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 1 lb mackerel fish, ground; 1 cup tapioca starch; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp salt; 1/4 cup water; 4 eggs; 1/2 cup cuko sauce (tamarind; 3 tbsp palm sugar; 2 cloves garlic; 2 chilies; 1 tbsp vinegar); 1 cucumber, diced; 2 tbsp dried shrimp, ground

Pempek (Palembang Fish Cake) reads umami 5.9, richness 5.4 and salinity 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Indonesian snack, about 35 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.7 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.8 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.0 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 0.7 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.4 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.9 · Richness 5.4 · Salinity 4.3 · Marine & Briny 4.2 · Allium 4.2 · Sweetness 2.3 · Sourness 1.7 · Fruity 1.6 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Citrus 1.1 · Warm Spice 1.0 · Earthy 0.6 · Bitterness 0.5 · Heat 0.5

What's in it (9)

1 lb mackerel fish, ground
1 cup tapioca starch
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
4 eggs
1/2 cup cuko sauce (tamarind; 3 tbsp palm sugar; 2 cloves garlic; 2 chilies; 1 tbsp vinegar)
1 cucumber, diced
2 tbsp dried shrimp, ground

Time & effort: about 35 min (25 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 96.4 kcal, 10.4 g protein, 4.2 g fat, 4.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Mix ground fish with tapioca, garlic, and salt, then shape into cylinders or hollow rounds filled with raw egg.
Boil pempek until they float, then deep-fry until golden.
Serve with spicy-sour cuko sauce, diced cucumber, and ground dried shrimp.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Arroz Negro — Spanish
Seafood Gumbo with Okra and Crab — Cajun/Creole · Creole
Shrimp Étouffée — Cajun/Creole
Louisiana Seafood Gumbo — Cajun/Creole
Txangurro a la Donostiarra — Basque · Hegoalde (Spain)

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.