Siomay Bandung

Mince 500 g fish fillet and mix with 50 g tapioca starch, 3 finely chopped and sautéed onions, 1 egg, 1 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 stalk of green onion. Knead until you get a sticky, uniform mixture.

Boil 4 potatoes until half-done, hard-boil 2 eggs, separate cabbage into leaves and blanch them, cut a bitter melon in half and remove the seeds, and cut tofu into large pieces.

Fill the tofu pieces, bitter melon halves, and hollowed-out potatoes with the fish mixture; wrap some of the filling in the blanched cabbage leaves, and shape the rest into small siomay.

Arrange the siomay, stuffed vegetables, and cabbage in a steamer basket, leaving gaps for the steam to circulate. Cover and steam over high heat for 10–15 minutes, until the filling is firm and fully opaque.

For the sauce, blend 250 g roasted peanuts, 5 tbsp tomato sauce, 2 tbsp hot sauce, 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce, and 1 tbsp vinegar. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan.

Pour in 200 ml water, bring the peanut sauce to a boil, and simmer over low heat for 5–7 minutes until thickened; adjust the spiciness with extra hot sauce if needed.

Serve the hot siomay sliced together with the potatoes, tofu, eggs, bitter melon, and cabbage, drizzled with peanut sauce and accompanied by wedges of 1 lime.