Pepes

Pepesis anIndonesiancooking method usingbanana leavesas food wrappings. The banana-leaf package containing food is secured withlidi seumat(a small nail made from the central ribs of coconut leaves) and then steamed or grilled on charcoal.This cooking technique allows the rich spice mixture to be compressed against the main ingredients inside the individual banana-leaf package while being cooked and also adds a distinct aroma of cooked or burned banana leaves. Although being cooked simultaneously with food, the banana leaf is a non-edible material and is discarded after consuming the food.
The cooking technique employing banana leaf as the wrapper is widely distributed throughout Indonesia and it is known by many names in severalregional languages:paisinSundanese,brengkesaninJavanese,brengkesinPalembang,pelasaninJavanese-Osing,palaiinMinangkabau, andpayehinAcehnese. The commonIndonesiannamepepeswas derived from the Sundanese wordpapais; the plural form ofpaisinSundanese language. Because its popularity was first contributed through the Sundanese cuisine, today pepes is often associated withSundanese cuisine.
This technique is most commonly used to preparefish. In West Java,ikan mas(Cyprinus carpio) is the most popular fish to be cooked as pepes.In Palembang,patin(Pangasius sutchi) andlais(Kryptopterus cryptopterus) are the most common fish to be used, while in West Sumatra, people usebilihfish (Mystacoleucus padangensis).
However, fish is not the only ingredient to be made for pepes. Seafood, meat, chicken,tofu,tempeh,oncom, mushroom, or vegetables are also available to be prepared in this method. There are many variations of pepes recipes. Other kinds of seafood, such asshrimpandsquid, although less common, can be used in pepes. Non-fish meat, such aschickenand mincedbeefmixed with egg can also be used. In Palembang, the dish pepestempoyakis well known, which is a steamed fermented durian paste in a banana leaf container.Rather exotic and unusual meat might also be cooked as pepes; for example,swikeevariations, frog legs, and frog eggs might be prepared as pepes. The method is used in several Indonesian dishes, and also become the name of a dish prepared in this manner, for example:
Pepes products are typically consumed with steamedrice.Otak-otakis similar to pepes, it is a mixture of fish and tapioca flour with spices wrapped in banana leaf. The vegetables with shredded coconut pepes are calledBotok.Buntilis prepared similarly, but usespapayaorcassavaleaves instead of banana leaves, making the wrapping edible as part of the dish. A similar Malaysian dish employing banana leaves is calledSata.
Pepes is made by mixing descaled and gutted fish or any type of food with a mixture of spices includingsalt,chilli,shallots,garlic,turmeric,ginger,lemongrass,curry leaf,candlenut,tamarind,tomato, andlemon basilall wrapped in a banana leaf. Sundanese cuisine recognizes two types of pepes: the regular or “plain” variety and yellow pepes, which are cooked with turmeric.The leaf is wrapped tight and secured with a stick at each ends, then steamed or grilled. To make soft-boned fish pepes, the method using pressure cooker or prolonged cooking time is employed.