Recipe
Pepes ikan
Check dates to cook this with Chef Wayan in Petulu.
IDR 450.000per guest, shared class
Balinese fish in banana leaf: base genep, tomato, chili, and basil, folded into a parcel and steamed or grilled so the fish cooks in its own juices.
By Chef Wayan Suryana, Warung Tumang BaliLast updated First published
Serves 4 parcels·Prep 20 minutes·Cook 25 minutes
Pepes ikan in short
Pepes ikan is fish seasoned with fried base genep, tomato, chili, lime leaf, and lemon basil, folded into a softened banana leaf and steamed for about 20 minutes or grilled. The leaf keeps the fish moist and adds its green smell.
In pepes the banana 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 on the plant-based menu.
Pepes ikan 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
How to make pepes ikan
- Rub the fish with salt and the fried base genep. Fold in the tomato and chili so the parcel is moist, not dry.
- Soften each banana leaf briefly over a gas flame or in a dry pan until it turns glossy and flexible. A cold leaf splits.
- Lay lime leaf and basil on the leaf, add the fish, and fold into a tight parcel. Pin it shut.
- 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 Ubud morning market.
Pepes ikan questions
- Can I use parchment instead of banana leaf?
- Parchment will cook the fish, but you lose the green smell of the leaf that makes pepes itself.
- Why does my banana leaf split?
- It is cold. Pass it briefly over a gas flame or through a dry pan until it turns glossy and flexible, then fold.
- Should pepes be steamed or grilled?
- Both work. Steam the parcels for 20 minutes, or grill them until the leaf chars in spots and the fish flakes.
- Is there a plant-based pepes?
- Yes. The Petulu kitchen uses the same banana-leaf wrap for tofu, with base genep made without shrimp paste.
Cook next from the same kitchen
- Base genepHow to make base genep (bumbu Bali): pound shallot, garlic, roots, and candlenut, then fry 8–10 minutes until the raw smell is gone. From a Petulu kitchen.
- Sate lilitHow to make sate lilit: mix fish or chicken with fried base genep and coconut, wrap it around lemongrass, and grill. Twelve skewers from a Petulu kitchen.
- Sambal matahHow to make sambal matah: paper-thin shallot, chili, lemongrass, and lime leaf, dressed with hot coconut oil. Same-day raw sambal from Petulu, Ubud 80571.
Learn it by hand in Bali
Plan the food day around this dish
- The Ubud morning market, before the heatWhen to walk a working Ubud morning market: just after dawn, chili and coconut still piled, then leave. How the Petulu class uses those stalls, not souvenirs.
- A half-day food itinerary from central UbudA half-day Ubud food plan: dawn market, Petulu rice-field walk, kitchen lunch by 12:30pm. One village kitchen in Bali 80571, not a 48-hour restaurant list.