A Palembang dish of soft fish-paste dumplings bathed in a turmeric-coconut sauce. The dumplings are made from the same fish-and-sago paste as pempek, but shaped into flat rounds and poached rather than fried, so they stay tender. The yellow gravy is rich with coconut milk and ground spices, and the bowl is finished with a spoon of sambal and a scatter of fried shallots. It belongs to the same Palembang fish-paste family as tekwan and laksan, and is eaten as a hearty meal with rice cakes or rice.
A traditional dish of Palembang, South Sumatra, and part of the city's broad repertoire of dishes built on ground freshwater or sea fish blended with sago, a legacy of the region's river culture and Chinese-influenced fishcake making. Celimpungan is one of the lesser-known members of this family alongside the better-travelled pempek and tekwan, and is often served at home gatherings and during Ramadan; no single inventor or founding date is recorded for it.
The dumplings are pillowy and faintly chewy, with the clean savor of fish and a soft, almost springy give. The coconut gravy is warm and mellow, fragrant with turmeric and lemongrass and just slightly sweet, coating each piece like a thin yellow blanket. A spoon of sambal cuts in with chili heat, and the fried shallots add a toasty crunch on top. It is comforting and rich without being heavy.
As in pempek, sago flour gelatinizes around the fish protein during poaching, setting the dumplings into a tender-springy gel rather than a tough mass; gentle simmering rather than a hard boil keeps them from breaking up. The gravy relies on coconut milk held just below a boil — too vigorous a boil splits the emulsion and the fat breaks out as grease, so it is stirred and kept at a bare simmer. Turmeric supplies both the yellow color and an earthy backbone, while the sauteed spice paste blooms its aromatics in oil before the coconut milk goes in.
Variations
Some cooks add a little ground dried shrimp or candlenut to the gravy for more depth; the dumplings may be made larger and flatter or smaller and rounded. Celimpungan closely resembles laksan, another Palembang fish-paste dish in coconut gravy, the main difference being the dumpling shape and the spice balance of the sauce.
On the Palate
Where Celimpungan sits in the Indonesian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 5
How it's made
8 steps · 45 min active + 30 min waiting
- 112 min
Blend ground fish with sago flour, a little water, and salt into a soft, smooth paste.
- 215 min
Shape the paste into flat rounds and poach in gently simmering water until they float, then lift out.
Watch outPoach the dumplings at a gentle simmer until they float — a hard boil knocks them apart before the sago sets them into a springy gel.
- 38 min
Grind shallots, garlic, candlenut, and turmeric into a fine paste.
- 46 min
Saute the spice paste with bruised lemongrass and galangal until fragrant.
- 55 min
Pour in coconut milk and bring to a bare simmer, stirring so it does not split.
Watch outBring the coconut milk only to a bare simmer, stirring — too vigorous a boil splits the emulsion and the fat breaks out as grease.
- 612 min
Season with salt and simmer until the gravy is fragrant and lightly thickened.
- 74 min
Slip the poached dumplings into the gravy and warm through.
- 83 min
Serve in bowls topped with sambal and fried shallots.
