Strike a stalk of lemongrass with the back of a knife and a green citrus fragrance rises from the cutting board. Then a sour broth with tamarind dissolved in it, yellow turmeric, and the slightly hard scent of galangal. Pindang is an Indonesian fish soup that doesn't turn the fish into a heavy stew but lets you eat it lightly, with sourness and herbs.
Pindang is used in Indonesia as the name for dishes that cook fish or meat with salt, sourness and aromatics. This article takes the idea of pindang ikan / pindang patin, often spoken of in South Sumatra and especially around Palembang, and moves it to white fish that is easy to buy elsewhere. The local patin is a freshwater fish close to catfish, but in a home kitchen, fillets of cod, sea bream, Spanish mackerel or yellowtail will do perfectly well.
What matters is not boiling the fish hard. Boil it vigorously and the soup turns cloudy, the flesh falls apart, and only the sourness stands out. Make the aromatic stock first at a heat where it just shivers and bubbles, and slip the fish in quietly at the end. Keep to this and you get a light fish soup that you want to spoon over white rice.
Pindang Is a Soup That Lightens Fish with Sourness
The core of pindang is lightening the fat of the fish with sourness. The round sourness of tamarind, the water of tomato and the sweet-sour of pineapple go in, and lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves add a green fragrance. It isn't a dish with coconut milk, so it is much lighter than rendang (in Japanese) or soto betawi (in Japanese), and suits a soup on a hot day.
In local homes and eateries, the kind of fish, the souring ingredient and the heat vary by region and household. Pindang patin, well known in Palembang, sometimes uses the freshwater fish patin, but home versions are also made with sea fish. When reproducing it elsewhere, keeping the sourness, herbs and heat gets you closer to the taste than matching the type of fish exactly.
What is easily overlooked is that pindang is not only "one fixed recipe" but is also used as a way of cooking that handles fish with salt, sourness and aromatics. That is why, comparing local photos and recipes, you see ones with clear broth, ones with strong chili, and ones made sweet-sour with pineapple. The formula in this article is gathered as a South Sumatra-leaning home version that holds up with fillets and goes well with white rice.
As a similar fish dish, North Sumatra's arsik is a rich dish in which a yellow aromatic paste is simmered into the fish. Pindang keeps the broth clearer and puts the sourness forward. Even among Indonesian fish dishes, the weight of the plate is quite different.
| Local element | Role | A realistic approach elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Freshwater fish such as patin | The fat and bones of the stock | Cod, sea bream, Spanish mackerel or yellowtail. Mixing in a little bone-in fish trimmings deepens the stock |
| Asam / tamarind | The core of the sourness | Dissolve tamarind paste in water. If none, lemon juice with a little rice vinegar |
| Lengkuas / galangal | A hard, refreshing quality harder than ginger | Frozen galangal. If none, use ginger in a small amount only |
| Daun jeruk | Citrus leaf aroma | Frozen makrut lime leaves. If none, thinly shave lime zest |
| Nanas / pineapple | Sweet-sour and a tropical feel | Fresh or canned, drained. If the canned is too sweet, reduce the sugar |
Ingredients (serves 4)
Fillets 2.5 to 3 cm thick are easy to handle. Thin fillets overcook, and ones that are too thick break up on the surface before the center is warmed. For a first try, skin-on cod, sea bream or Spanish mackerel make the broth less likely to turn cloudy.
Deciding on substitutes
Leave out the tamarind, galangal and makrut lime leaves altogether and you get a sour fish soup of a plain kind. You don't have to buy all three, but to keep the outline of the dish, tamarind is the top priority, next lemongrass and galangal, and makrut lime leaves if you can manage.
Pineapple is a matter of taste. With it, the soup moves toward the sweet-sour of South Sumatra, and without it, it comes closer to a clear fish soup. On days you use the canned, leave out the syrup and cut the sugar to 1 tsp.
Allergies and heat
This is a dish that uses fish. If you make it with oily fish, fat comes out easily, so don't skip the lime in the preparation. For heat, don't put the chili in the pot; serving sambal in the bowl makes it easy to share across the family.
Nutrition guide
The following is a guide per serving, calculated with 600g of white fish and 1 1/2 tbsp oil, without the rice. It changes with the kind of fish, the sugar content of the pineapple and how salty you make it.
| Item | Guide |
|---|---|
| Energy | about 285 kcal |
| Protein | about 29g |
| Fat | about 9g |
| Carbohydrate | about 21g |
| Fiber | about 4g |
| Salt equivalent | about 2.1g |
Shopping: Look for Only the Aroma and Sourness Elsewhere
What is worth tracking down is not the fish. Buy the fish, tomato and pineapple nearby, and gather only the sourness and herbs that are hard to find. Tamarind, galangal and makrut lime leaves, even if left over, can go to arsik, gado-gado and tom kha gai (in Japanese).
Tamarind is the core of the sourness. You can eat it with only lemon, but the roundness when combined with the fat of the fish is easier to achieve with tamarind.
Galangal adds a hard, refreshing quality that ginger alone has trouble giving. Frozen can be used sliced, and leftovers are easy to send to soups and curries.
Even a single makrut lime leaf changes the aroma of the broth. Keeping frozen ones in small portions helps when you make Southeast Asian soups.
Method: Don't Break the Fish by Boiling
Pindang is not a dish that squeezes out savoriness by simmering fish for a long time. Get the aromatic paste and sour stock ready first, and put the fish in briefly at the end. Keeping the heat at a level where the surface of the pot quietly shivers keeps the broth clear and leaves the flesh of the fish in large pieces.
What is more likely to go wrong with pindang is not thin flavor but the fish breaking and the soup turning cloudy. After adding the fish, don't let large bubbles come up from the bottom of the pot. Lowering the heat and spooning the broth over the top leaves the flesh in larger pieces.
During simmering the sourness of the tamarind rounds a little. If it is unsatisfying at the finish, adding 1 tsp lime juice directly in the bowl lets you adjust without making the whole pot too sour.
Common Failures and Storage
Pindang makes a difference more through heat than through the kinds of ingredients. Even with the herbs gathered, if you boil hard after adding the fish, the flesh splits and the broth turns grayish. Conversely, if you make the heat too low, the center of the fish doesn't warm and the aroma blurs.
| Problem | Main cause | How to fix it on the spot |
|---|---|---|
| The soup turned cloudy | Boiled hard over high heat after adding the fish | Move only the large pieces to the bowls and lightly strain the broth through a sieve lined with paper towels |
| The fish broke apart | Turned partway, or pressed with a wooden spoon | Use the broken flesh to spoon over rice, and serve the large pieces on top |
| Too sour | Too much tamarind, or the pineapple is sour | Add 1/2 tsp raw cane sugar and 100ml hot water, and warm for 3 minutes over low heat |
| The aroma is weak | The herbs were put in with water without frying | Add 1/2 stalk lemongrass and 1 makrut lime leaf and warm 4 minutes over low heat |
| Fishy | Not prepared enough, or the fish isn't very fresh | Add 1 tsp lime juice in the bowl and serve a little sambal alongside |
Storage and reheating
It smells best just made, but it is good refrigerated until the next day. Because it is a fish dish, avoid leaving it at room temperature, and move it to a shallow container as soon as the heat is off.
| Storage method | Guide | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Until the next day | Store the fish and broth together. Removing the herbs makes bitterness less likely |
| Freezer | Not suitable | The flesh of the fish splits, and the texture of the tomato and pineapple also drops |
| Make-ahead | The broth alone the day before | Make it up to the aromatic stock, and add the fish on the day you eat |
To reheat, use a small pot over low heat. Heating only in a microwave tends to toughen the edges of the fish, so warm the broth first, return the fish and warm for just 2 to 3 minutes.
How to eat it and a menu
Spoon it over white rice a little at a time and add sambal in the bowl. If you add vegetables, cucumber, blanched greens and a light stir-fry go better than a rich side. To move toward an Indonesian table, connect it to sate ayam, the sweet grilled skewers, gado-gado, the warm vegetable dish, and soto ayam, the yellow chicken soup, and the same herbs and sambal can be reused.
Q1. Is it not pindang unless I use patin?
That is not the case. In the form of pindang patin, patin is the star, but if you think of it as pindang ikan, there is a range in the kind of fish. Fillets of cod, sea bream, Spanish mackerel and yellowtail are easy to handle. Adding a little bone-in fish deepens the broth.
Q2. Can I make it on a day without tamarind?
Yes. Mix 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp raw cane sugar and 1 tbsp water and use that. The roundness of the sourness changes, though, so taste at the finish and add a little at a time.
Q3. Is pineapple essential?
It isn't. With it you get a sweet-sour quality that lightens the fat of the fish. If you leave it out, adding 1 more tomato and just 1/2 tsp raw cane sugar makes it easy to balance.
Q4. Can I make a pindang that isn't hot for children?
Yes. Leave out the red chili, and serve sambal only in the adults' bowls. The axis of the aroma remains in the turmeric, lemongrass, galangal and makrut lime leaves, so even without heat it stands as a sour fish soup.
Q5. How do I judge whether the fish is cooked?
When the center of the flesh is white and opaque and breaks apart in large flakes when pressed lightly. If you have a thermometer, use 63°C at the center as the guide. If you are unsure from appearance alone, break open just the thickest piece to check.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Pindang - Checked the outline of Indonesian pindang and its spread as a dish that cooks fish or meat with salt and aromatics.
- Wikipedia: Palembang cuisine - Checked the context of Palembang cooking and the place of pindang patin.
- FoodSafety.gov: Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures - Checked the guide for the safe internal temperature of fish.
