Otak Otak recipe

I am re-posting this recipe as I didn’t like the previous photo.  Suz has taken another photo.  It was featured in an earlier post. (Otak Otak old pix).

Otak means brains in Malay and Indonesian.  It is also known as Otah Otah and the name of derived from the name of the dish is derived from the idea that the dish somewhat resembles brains, being on the soft and squishy side  (wiki).  Best eaten as a snack, or bread.  I prefer to have it with rice

Here’s the recipe:
500 grams fish fillet (cut into thin strips)
5 kaffir leaves (slice finely)
20 betel leaves (optional cos you can only get them in tropical climate)
4 big eggs
200mls thick coconut milk (can substitute with canned coconut milk)

Curry mixture:
1 Tablespoon chilly powder
30 grams mince lemon grass
5 grams of mince blue ginger
15 grams minced garlic
45 grams minced onion
15 grams of fresh tumeric (1 teaspoon dried tumeric)
15 grams shrimp paste
15 grams rice flour
6 grams pepper
10 grams salt
10 grams sugar

Mix all the curry mix together then stir in the kaffir leaves, coconut milk, eggs and sliced fish.

In Malaysia where we have banana leaves and betel leaves in abundance, we take the opportunity to wrap up like a small parcel which resembles a ‘hand bag’.

The other easier way of cooking the otak otak is to pour the curry mix into a 2 to 3 inch deep flat casserole with the sliced fish and steam it for 20 minutes.