Otak Otak

Food of:
Malaysia & Singapore

Food submitted by:
foodyoo/Johor/Malaysia

Otak-otak is a fish cake from Malaysia. Muar, a small town located at Johor is particularly famous for it. Otak-otak is made by mixing fish paste with a mixture of spices including chillies, garlic, shallots, turmeric, lemon grass and coconut milk. The mixture is then wrapped in a banana leaf, after that grilled or steamed it.

Although otak-otak is traditionally made with fish meat, modern versions of otak-otak also utilize crab meat, prawn meat, cuttlefish, fish head and even chicken.

There are different forms of otak-otak originating from different regions. Otak-otak from Muar is wrapped up as a thin slice using banana or coconut leaf and grilled over a charcoal fire. But nyonya otak-otak from Melaka and Penang is wrapped in the leaves and looks like a wrapped up kuih.

Otak-otak can be eaten as a snack or with bread or rice as part of a meal.

Recipe

• 1/2kg boneless fish meat (minced)
• 2 small onions
• 1 tsp belacan
• 2 stalks lemon grass
• 2cm piece galanggal
• 3-4 red chillies
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 egg
• sugar to taste
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 180ml thick coconut milk
• salt to taste
• banana leaf (grease with cooking oil)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.

2. Grind the onions, belacan, lemon grass, galanggal and red chillies with coconut milk to a fine paste. Add the turmeric. Mix well.

3. Mix in the fish paste, egg, sugar, salt and corn flour. Beat the mixture until smooth.

4. Place fish paste mixture in the center of a banana leaf, adjusted according to size of banana leaf.

5. Fold and secure both ends with short bamboo skewers.

6. Bake fish until firm to touch. (Approx 15-20 minutes.) Cool before cutting.