The Mouth Watering 'Ikan Pekasam'

Ikan pekasam?? This is my favorite among of all the ikan masin family. Ikan pekasam is marinated in toasted rice n salt. The fish is left to ferment for two weeks in a closed urn. The process softens the fish’s scales and bones n gives the traditional delicacy its distinct sharp tangy taste.

The types of fish made for ikan pekasam normally are talapia, sepat, puyu, haruan, keli (small-medium size). I actually don’t eat ikan sungai. I cannot stand the smell n the texture of the fish especially haruan, sembilang or keli. I only eat haruan during my confinement period. Tu pun jenuh paksa sumbat dlm mulut.

During my last visit to Kedah I went to Pekan Rabu to buy ikan pekasam (stok kat rumah dah habis). Surprisingly there were many people crowded at the stall. I even heard one makcik spoke in Kelantan dialect asking for the price. The price is RM20 per kilo. They will normally pack half kilo per container contains of 6-8 fish depends of the size. You can select the fish by yourself but I normally just let them select the mixture of small+big size of fish.

I brought Hakeem, Nabila there n they were complaining about the smell. I said.. this is your mom’s favorite n when u grow up u have to eat this too! Hehehehehe… mula2 kena train ambil bau dulu.

Ikan pekasam not only liked by orang utara but also people from Kelantan, Terengganu n Johor. Nowadays u can actually find ikan pekasam anywhere in the country. I saw once at pasar Shah Alam n even pasar tani. I still prefer to buy at Pekan Rabu as it is always taste fresh. The type of ikan pekasam that I like is sepat.

Ikan pekasam is best eaten fried dengan nasi panas2.. I would normally fried longer so it would be crispier then slice bawang merah, cili padi n perah asam limau.. Waaallaaaa… mak mertua lalu belakang pun tak nampak.

In my house I n Deaa only eat n ‘take pleasure in’ this ikan pekasam. The rest including hubby tak makan… Huh.. rugi rugi… Bila time goreng kena buka tingkap, pintu luas2.. the smell goes to all the neighbourhood. My chinese neighbour pun makan ikan pekasam tau... So rugi sape tak rasa..