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Recipe

Pepes ikan

Fish seasoned with base genep, wrapped in banana leaf, and steamed or grilled. A parcel dish from the Balinese kitchen at Warung Tumang Bali.

All recipes·Serves 4 parcels·Prep 20 minutes·Cook 25 minutes

A wooden table set with bowls of ground spices, chilies, grated coconut, and banana leaves

Pepes is a banana-leaf parcel. The leaf is not a garnish. It steams the fish in its own juices and picks up the lime leaf and chili pressed against it.

The spice table in Petulu is laid with banana leaves beside the bowls of chili and coconut. The same wrap is used for tofu when the menu is vegetarian.

Ingredients

  • 4 small fish fillets, or 2 small whole fish, cleaned
  • 3 tablespoons fried base genep
  • 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 2 bird’s eye chilies, sliced
  • A handful of kemangi (lemon basil) or Thai basil
  • 4 lime leaves
  • Salt
  • 4 pieces of banana leaf, wilted over a flame so they bend
  • Toothpicks or leaf strips, to tie

Method

  1. Rub the fish with salt and the fried base genep. Fold in the tomato and chili so the parcel is moist, not dry.
  2. Soften each banana leaf briefly over a gas flame or in a dry pan until it turns glossy and flexible. A cold leaf splits.
  3. Lay lime leaf and basil on the leaf, add the fish, and fold into a tight parcel. Pin it shut.
  4. Steam for 20 minutes, or grill the parcels until the leaf chars in spots and the fish flakes. Open at the table.

If you cannot find banana leaf, parchment will cook the fish, but you will miss the green smell that makes pepes itself. The class uses leaf from the market run.