I’ve been wanting to share this amazing recipe for some time now. Pepes refers to food — mainly chicken, fish or tofu — marinated in spices and steam-cooked in banana leaves (something like the Parsi patra ni machi). The marinade includes fresh herbs, mostly lemon basil, which is the star here. Some tart flavours like green tomatoes or blimbing wuluh (also known as bilimbi, or tree sorrel — an edible sour fruit) truly bring out the freshness of this dish.
These pepes are normally eaten hot with steamed rice. You can either wrap them in rectangles and seal the edges with a toothpick, or pack them like pyramids.
Fun facts: kemangi, or lemon basil, is a very close cousin of our tulsi. It’s mostly served in a lalapan, a raw salad consisting of torn cabbage leaves, green or red tomato wedges, and daun kemangi — eaten raw alongside any cooked chicken or meat dish. Today I’ve used both green tomato and blimbing wuluh, just to give you the idea — the main goal is to add tartness to the pepes.
Ingredients
1 chicken with bones, cut into small pieces (about 700 gms — I cut mine into 12 pieces). Marinate with the juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp black pepper. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
Chop and grind together
- 10 pods garlic
- 12 shallots
- 8 candlenuts or about 10 cashewnuts
- 6 red chillies
- 1 inch piece fresh turmeric
- 1 inch piece galangal
- ¼ cup oil
Blend until it’s a fine paste.
Other ingredients
- Big squares of banana leaves
- 2–3 stalks of spring onions, cut into chunks
- Some lemongrass, bashed and cut slantingly
- Some fresh bay leaves
- Lots of daun kemangi, aka lemon basil or Thai basil — small, very fragrant leaves and tender stem, about 50 gms
- 2–3 green tomatoes, cut into wedges (or use blimbing wuluh)
- Bird’s eye chillies, as needed
Method
- Take a wok, add the ground paste and another 1–2 tbsp of oil, and sauté on low heat until cooked, fragrant, and the colour changes from yellow to reddish-brown. Cool this paste, which will now look dry.
- Once cool, mix in the chicken along with the marinade. Add some salt, msg (if using), and coat the chicken pieces nicely. Add the spring onions and all the basil leaves, mix properly — ready to pack.
To assemble
- Take 2 sheets of banana leaves, one on top of the other. Put 1–2 fresh bay leaves, add sliced lemongrass, then top with chicken pieces, spring onions, and basil leaves.
- Top again with green tomato wedges and some bird’s eye chillies.
- Pack the banana leaf so there’s no leakage of juices.
- Steam these packets for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Have hot with steamed jasmine rice. You can make individual packets with one or two pieces of chicken inside — I got 6 packets of pepes.
