Otak-Otak — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A spiced, creamy fish mousse wrapped in banana leaf parcels and grilled over charcoal — the custard sets to a silky, fragrant texture that melts on the tongue with each smoky, spicy bite.

Ingredients

500g mackerel fillet, deboned
100ml coconut milk
1 egg
5 dried red chilies, soaked
4 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2cm galangal
2cm turmeric
1 stalk lemongrass
1 tbsp belacan
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
1 tsp sugar
Salt
Banana leaves, cut into rectangles

Instructions

1 Blend fish fillet, coconut milk, and egg in a food processor until smooth and paste-like.
2 Blend chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, and belacan into a spice paste.
3 Mix the fish paste with the spice paste, add shredded lime leaves, sugar, and salt.
4 Soften banana leaves over a flame. Place 2-3 tablespoons of fish mixture in the center of each leaf.
5 Fold into flat parcels and secure with toothpicks.
6 Grill over charcoal for 5-7 minutes per side until the banana leaf is charred and the filling is firm. Serve warm.

Did You Know?

The name "otak-otak" literally means "brains-brains" in Malay because the soft, custardy texture of the cooked fish paste was thought to resemble brain matter.