Otak Otak
A Southeast Asian favourite food, "otak otak" can be eaten as an appetizer (see also appetite), a dish with rice, or as a standalone snack. Otak otak is also used as an ingredient in the cooking of other dishes such as otak otak fried rice and otak otak omelette.
The ingredients in otak otak include, but are not limited to, fish fillet, kaffir lime leaves, curry powder, eggs and coconut milk. The ingredients are wrapped in banana leaves. The cooking of otak otak varies from barbecuing over a fire fueled by charcoal, baking and steaming.
Interesting names have been given to this flavoursome and colourful food. They are
o fish steamed/baked/grilled in banana leaf
o nyonya fish custard wrapped in banana leaf
o spicy fish paste wrapped in banana leaf
o grilled spicy fish cake
o steamed fish mousse in banana leaf
Although translated literally from the Malay language, "otak" means the brain, it is obvious that one would hesitate to call it "barbecued brains in banana leaf".
