Pepes is an Indonesian cooking method using banana leaves as food wrappings. The banana-leaf package containing food is secured with lidi seumat (a small nail made from the central ribs of coconut leaves) and then steamed or grilled on charcoal.
Etymology
The cooking technique employing banana leaf as the wrapper is widely distributed throughout Indonesia and it is known by many names in several regional languages:
pais in Sundanese,
brengkesan in Javanese,
brengkes in Palembang,
pelasan in
Osing people,
palai in Minangkabau, and
payeh in Acehnese. The common Indonesian name
pepes was derived from the Sundanese word
papais; the plural form of
pais in Sundanese language. Because its popularity was first contributed through the Sundanese cuisine, today pepes is often associated with Sundanese cuisine.
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Variations
This technique is most commonly used to prepare fish. In West Java,
ikan mas (
Cyprinus carpio) is the most popular fish to be cooked as pepes.
In Palembang,
patin (
Pangasius) and
lais (
Kryptopterus cryptopterus) are the most common fish to be used, while in West Sumatra, people use
bilih fish (
Mystacoleucus).
However, fish is not the only ingredient to be made for pepes. Seafood, meat, chicken, tofu, tempeh, oncom, mushroom, or vegetables are also available to be prepared in this method. There are many variations of pepes recipes. Other kinds of seafood, such as shrimp and squid, although less common, can be used in pepes. Non-fish meat, such as chicken and minced beef mixed with egg can also be used. In Palembang, the dish pepes tempoyak is well known, which is a steamed fermented durian paste in a banana leaf container.
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Pepes ikan mas (carp pepes)
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Pepes daging (minced beef pepes)
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Pepes ayam (chicken pepes)
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Pepes tahu (tofu pepes)
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Pepes oncom (oncom pepes)
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Pepes teri (anchovy pepes)
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Pepes jamur (mushroom pepes)
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Pepes kodok (boneless frog legs pepes)
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Pepes telur kodok (frog eggs pepes)
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Pepes tempoyak (fermented durian paste pepes)
Pepes products are typically consumed with steamed
rice.
Otak-otak is similar to pepes, it is a mixture of fish and tapioca flour with spices wrapped in banana leaf. The vegetables with shredded coconut pepes are called
Botok.
Buntil is prepared similarly, but uses
papaya or
cassava leaves instead of banana leaves, making the wrapping edible as part of the dish. A similar Malaysian dish employing banana leaves is called Sata.
Preparation
Pepes is made by mixing descaled and gutted fish or any type of food with a mixture of spices including
salt,
chilli pepper,
shallots,
garlic,
turmeric,
ginger,
lemongrass,
curry leaf,
candlenut,
tamarind,
tomato, and
lemon basil all wrapped in a banana leaf. Sundanese cuisine recognizes two types of pepes: the regular or “plain” variety and yellow pepes, which are cooked with turmeric.
The leaf is wrapped tight and secured with a stick at each ends, then steamed or grilled. To make soft-boned fish pepes, the method using pressure cooker or prolonged cooking time is employed.
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See also
