Otak-Otak


    

What is Otak-Otak

Otak-Otak is a fish cake dish that is common in Malaysia as well as Singapore and Indonesia. As with many local dishes, there are regional variations to the otak-otak. The Penang otak-otak, which has Nyonya influence, is a steamed fish cake made from a mixture of eggs, fish fillet and a whole lot of herbs including serai (lemon grass), lengkuas (galangal), ginger, kunyit hidup (fresh tumeric), dried chillies, daun mengkudu (morinda), daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaf), on a bed of daun kaduk (Piper sarmentosum, pointed pepper), and the whole thing wrapped with banana leaf. The style of wrapping otak-otak is unique and immediately recognizable - it is such that the egg and fish mix do not run out.

The wrap is held together by a lidi (coconut leaf rib) though nowadays it is simply stapled. It is commonly sold at economy rice stalls, in which case it is often simply prepared on trays - otak-otak lovers prefer those wrapped in banana leaf; there is nothing like the aroma of freshly steamed fish when the otak-otak is unwrapped.

Ingredients of Otak-Otak:

  • fish - kurau (threadfin)
  • egg yolk
  • serai (lemon grass)
  • lengkuas (galangal)
  • kunyit hidup (fresh tumeric)
  • daun mengkudu (morinda leaf)
  • daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaf)
  • daun kaduk (pointed pepper leaf)
  • shallots
  • ginger
  • coconut milk
  • banana leaves, for wrapping



  • Otak-Otak


    Otak-Otak


    Where to find Otak-Otak

    Otak-Otak is available at the following locations in Penang:
  • At Hou Mei Yuen Cafe in Bukit Jambul (lunch), every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
  • Super Tanker Food Court, Lip Sin Garden


  • Cast your vote for the best Otak-Otak!
    Where can you get the best Otak-Otak in Penang? Let us know. If you know of any coffee shop not listed, you can still vote for it, as long as it is in Penang! The voting will run until 31 December. All you need to do is fill up the information requested below, and email it to me at:



    Provide the following details
  • Food: (name of food, ie: chee cheong fun, etc.)
  • Where: (ie Ah Leong Cafe, Jalan Kerbau)
  • Available during: (breakfast / lunch / dinner)
  • My email address: (your email address)



  • Bookmark and Share
    Let us keep you updated on everything related to Penang. Just copy and paste our link to your website or blog.




    Here's the latest updates from my websites ...





    Thank you very much for visiting Penang Travel Tips! My name is Tim. I am the writer of this website. I created it to share with travel enthusiasts information that I have assembled about Penang, which I hope is useful to you, and is as accurate as I am able to put together.

    Penang Travel Tips combines my knowledge of Penang with talking to people, asking questions, taking photographs, snooping around, and lots and lots of research. I hope that through Penang Travel Tips, budget travelers can explore Penang on their own. This is one of over a dozen websites that I write - you can click my thumbnail photo above to randomly visit any one of them. All my photos are available for commercial printing - find out the photo usage rights here. If you wish to share your photos on this website, upload them to Panoramio (www.panoramio.com) and send the URL to me for consideration. I would love to display your photos here. Also, if you have additional information about the places I have written about, please write and tell me about it. If I include your information, I will provide an acknowledgement within the page.

    I want to thank all of you who have written to me providing support and encouragement, and thanks also to those who helped me make the information more accurate. If you'd like to correspond with me, send your mails to my address as shown below:










    Tim's Travel Tips and globe logo are trademark and service mark of Timothy Tye. Copyright © 2008 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.
    Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. We disclaim responsible for its usage, and encourage users to recheck the information before their trip. Some photos are provided by Panoramio. They are governed by Panoramio terms & conditions and are under the copyright of their respective owners. They may only be used under the terms & conditions specified by Panoramio. Photographs that belong to Tim are copyrighted and may not be reused unless you first obtain permission. All of Tim's photographs are available for commercial use under the following licensing terms. Tim is a Christian. Click here to know more about his beliefs. To contact Tim, write to: