I cant find the right words to translate "Pepes Udang" into English ;) It means shrimp mixed in a generous red spice paste, wrapped in banana leaf in tubular shape (fasten with toothpick on both edges), steamed then grilled without unwrapped. Now could you tell me wat is it in english? :DSometimes people skip out the grilling process, in fact it's the secret key to make an authentic delicious Pepes Udang. Surabayan use "cobek tanah liat" (terracotta mortar) to get the best flavour. Fyi, mortar in Indonesia (specially in Java) is almost flat just like a plate, unlike those in other countries that nearly bowl-shaped. Smoke of terracotta combined with the burned banana leaf brings a distinctive flavour while it burned, a flavour that you cant find on other materials instead of terracotta. This flavour brings an extra taste to Pepes Udang, no wonder even people use terracotta roof tile to substitute the mortar! Dont worry if you cant get any terracotta around, you may grill it over charcoal anyway, or simply put it over your grill-pan, just let the burned banana leaf wrapper infuses its wonderful flavour to the spices paste & shrimp inside. Note that you can substitute the shrimp with fish fillet and the name would be "Pepes Ikan". Yummm.....
Surabayan Pepes Udang
Ingredients:
500 gr shelled shrimp
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
Banana leaf and toothpicks
Ground into a paste:
150 gr fresh red chilli
7 cloves garlic
3 cm galangal, sliced
5 pcs kaffir lime leaves
1 tbs tamarind juice
1.5 tsp salt
Method:
Combine shrimp, ground spices and chopped tomatoes in a bowl, mix well.
Prepare 2-3 sheets of banana leaf (15cm width each), place 3 tbs of shrimp mixture at one edge, roll to wrap, fasten the edges using toothpicks.
Steam for 1-20 minutes.
Grill over terracotta material or charcoal or grillpan with small-medium heat, turn occasionaly until the wrapper gets dry and brown but not burned.
Serve with warm rice.
Indonesian Version.
Pepes Udang SuroboyoanBahan:
500 gr udang jerbung kupas (timbang udah dikupas ya)
1 buah tomat matang ukuran medium, iris kasar
Daun pisang & lidi untuk membungkus
Bumbu halus:
150 gr cabe merah (boleh buang bijinya ato enggak)
7 siung bawang putih
3 cm lengkuas
5 lembar daun jeruk buang tulang daunnya
1 sdm air asam
1.5 sdt garam /secukupnya
Cara:
Aduk udang, tomat dan bumbu halus.
Siapkan 2-3 lembar daun pisang lebar 15cm, letakkan beberapa sendok adonan di satu sisi, gulung & semat ujung2nya dengan lidi.
Kukus 20 menit.
Transfer ke cobek yang udah dipanaskan diatas kompor, panggang dengan api sedang sambil sesekali dibolak-balik hingga daun bagian luarnya agak hangus, angkat & sajikan dengan nasi hangat.
Note:
Paling asoy disajikan dengan sayur asem, apalagi sayur asem buah kelor dan krai (sejenis mentimun), wahhhh.... syor banget!
Sumber
