Maritime Southeast Asia · Volume 46, The Sago, the Citrus Cure and the River Before the Road
Umai
Melanau, coastal Sarawak
Illustration
- Time
- 1 hour
- Researched
- 7 sources cited
Recognised as Malaysian national heritage food alongside Sabah's hinava since 2009. Traditional fish include ikan parang, white pomfret, ikan empirang and terubuk, toli shad, now scarce enough to be commercially significant in its own right.
As tradition built it
Serves 4 as a starter. 30 to 60 minutes, or overnight for a stronger cure.
Ingredients
- 300g firm white fish or prawns, very fresh
- 4 shallots, finely sliced
- 1 thumb ginger, finely julienned
- 2 to 3 bird's eye chillies, sliced
- 3 to 4 limes juice of 3 to 4 limes, or to taste
- to taste salt, sugar, to taste
Method
- Slice the fish thinly against the grain, or leave prawns whole if small.
- Mix with the shallot, ginger and chilli.
- Dress with lime juice, salt and a little sugar, tasting as you go, "mengikut cita rasa sendiri," according to your own taste; no source gives a fixed ratio, and this dish is genuinely made by feel within families.
- Leave 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or overnight refrigerated for a stronger cure.
What a modern chef changes
The safety step the tradition never needed, applied before the cure that gives the dish its texture.
Rung 2
Method
- Freeze the fish solid for at least 96 hours before you do anything else. This is not traditional, it is UK food safety practice standing in for the fact that Bornean fishermen worked with fish minutes from the water; the citrus cure does not reliably kill parasites on its own.
- Cure exactly as tradition instructs once thawed. Do not extend the citrus time to compensate for anything; the freeze, not the acid, is doing the safety work.
- Use mackerel if a UK-fresh fish closer to the traditional species cannot be sourced; it is easy to buy well in Britain and freezes cleanly.