Local freshwater isn’t a common everyday fish for most of us. Note that I mentioned local; I'm discounting tilapia and the usual catfish available in markets because those are introduced species from Africa. Mind you, Malaysian waters has it’s very own catfish which is sadly becoming rare nowadays, due to habitat loss or inter-breeding with the imported African catfish.

Let’s take a look at the more well known types of ‘local freshies’ we have in our waters. We have the carp family, easily identifiable by their single dorsal fin, lack of teeth and the numerous Y shaped bones in their flesh. Next, we have the catfish gang, with their trademark whiskers/feelers and smooth, scaleless bodies. Lastly, and the most creepy looking, are the snakeheads: haruan and toman, and puyu, which are all air-breathers and look creepily reptilian.

The local baung- great for gulai

Let’s get one issue out of the way first:

It Smells and Tastes Muddy!
The best way to rid of this unwelcome taste is to wash and rinse the fish with tamarind pulp, diluted in water. Some also swear by using flour, while my own mother soaks the fish in ‘air beras’ (the water used for washing rice) for a while. I have to say it works!

But it also pays to know that not all freshwater fish carry this smell and flavor. The fish’s habitat and diet plays a big role in determining the flavor of the flesh. As a general rule, fish that live in slow-moving, murky rivers with silt and muddy riverbeds, or fish that is farmed in abandoned mines and ponds tend to have a muddier flavor. Conversely, fish that make fast, clear and sandy or rocky rivers or lakes with river outlets and inlets their hiomes tend to have a ‘cleaner’ taste, and are generally ‘fresher’ smelling as well.

So Where Can I Get These Fishes?
Not at your local supermarket for sure, and good quality, fresh local freshwater fish are hard to come by these days, especially if you live anywhere in the Klang Valley. But don’t give up hope yet.

The Sunday morning Pasar Tani in Shah Alam, near the stadium, has a few stalls selling a good variety of local freshwater fish. Here, you can find gems such as terbol and lampam sold among more common varieties of fish.

There’s also a place in Desa Melawati, Ulu Klang, that sells and serves freshwater fish, known as Restoran Ikan Sungai.

One place takes top spot though: Pasar Temerloh, Pahang. The market there is probably THE place to get freshwater fish, including the very rare, very expensive Temoleh a large, striped fish from the carp family. Temerloh is also very famous for its many restaurants serving Masak Lemak Tempoyak featuring various ikan sungai like patin, tengalan, baung and jelawat. The best thing is that the fishes used in a lot of the restaurants here are not the farmed variety, but caught right there in the majestic Pahang River. It really is worth the hour or so drive from KL.

Try hitting your local markets in the morning; if you’re lucky, you might find a few stalls selling local freshies.

Of course, you could always fish for it yourself. Our country is teeming with rivers and lakes. Take some fishing lessons, and start going around the country. Learn from the locals, and check out the many local fishing magazines for tips and tricks.

"Where there is water, there must be fish!"

If you're getting into freshwater fishing, a good place to start out and practice are the pay-ponds, mostly located around the Semenyih and Ulu Yam area, and many others in Rawang too. And there really is a LOT, so search around and look for reviews from anglers. These pay-ponds charge a nominal fee for a certain period of time where you can fish, and you get to take home the fish you catch, and the fishes available are usually patin, ikan keli, rohu, lampam and haruan. Keep in mind though that these pond fish usually taste inferior to their wild caught counterparts.

If you really want a great experience and superior tasting freshwater fish though, you really have to put on your hiking boots and go for a trip into the wilds of Malaysia. Some travel packages provide good, comprehensive fishing packages and they'll take you to pristine and relatively undisturbed water. Famous spots for freshwater fishing are the wild rivers of Taman Negara Endau Rompin in Pahang and Terengganu, such as Sungai Cacing and Sungai Tahan, as well as the lakes Tasik Bera, Chenderoh Kenyir and Temenggor. You can even rent out boathouses to really rough it out at these lakes. Or If you're feeling really, really adventurous, charter a trip to the untouched Belum Rainforest (you need military permission for this!) and try your luck there.

A river in the early morning, deceptively quiet but with loads of fish catching potential

These fishing spots are for advanced anglers though, and certainly not for the weak of heart! The normal targets here are fish like the rare Kelah, which grows to more than 10kg, and also various carps such as Sebarau (a predatory species distinguished by its torpedo shaped body and red tinged fins), tengas (a more common relative of the Kelah), catfish like Baung and the gigantic Ikan Tapah that can grow to 150kg, and the vicious snakeheads such as Toman and Bujuk. If you’re really lucky, you might even catch one of the most prized fishes in the world: the arowana, which is native to these waters.

The ones on top is sebarau and the reddish at the bottom is the yummy kelah

Sometimes the most unlikeliest places can harbor good fish; a deep and clear stream nearby the bustling township of Melawati, or a weedy parit beside a main road in Taiping, Perak, for example, yielded me with a good number of haruan and keli! In fact, some anglers believe in the mantra: "Where there is water, there must be fish!"

Clean It, Cook It, Eat It
Now you have your fish, it’s time to prepare it. If you caught it yourself and intend to keep it, kill the fish with a firm blow to the head using a heavy, blunt object, such as the back of a knife. Don’t bash the head in, just a firm but hard ‘tap’. It’s also a good idea to bleed the fish; this you do by using a sharp knife to cut the throat, perpendicular to the body. Bleeding a fish improves the quality of the meat as it avoids acid build-up in the muscles that’ll make the flesh go bad quicker. Bleeding also helps remove any impurities in the blood that can affect the flavor of the flesh. Store fish you don’t intend to use straightaway wrapped in butchers paper and freeze.

Best way for fish enjoyment, out of river, cut it up, into the pot!

As mentioned earlier in the article, some people don’t like the muddy taste of certain species, so it’s worth using the tamarind or flour trick, or soaking them in air beras. Or you could also use a citrus fruit as a rub to mask the undesirable flavor.

Other than that, there’s no big secret in handling freshwater fishes. You can prepare them the same way you’d prepare saltwater fish, including gutting, filleting and skinning, or cutting into steaks, or just leave them whole.

The carp family is notorious for being risky to eat as all species have numerous small bones embedded in the flesh. A trick to get around this is to make slices about 0.5cm apart in the flesh along the body, cutting to the bone but not completely through. The bones will magically disappear, but this technique only applies to the smaller types.

You’ll also find a myriad of different flavors and textures. The meaty catfishes tend to have soft, white flesh that doesn’t seem to flake, but instead melts in your hand and mouth, so don’t overcook catfishes or they’ll become mushy. Carps, meanwhile, have firm, flaky meat, often white, and varies tremendously in flavor, from bland and muddy, to sweet and flavourful. The snakeheads are similar to catfish in texture, though generally firmer.

Masak Lemak Tempoyak or Masak Asam Tempoyak are two very popular ways to prepare freshwater fish, especially catfishes like patin and baung. Wrapping in banana leaves and grilling over hot embers or an open fire works well with most types, whilst the big, firm fleshed carps are best steamed with some soy sauce, ginger and cili padi. Smaller fish can be deep fried to a crisp, either plain, or smothered in spicy sambal goreng. Air asam, sambal belachan and budu are excellent condiments, and white rice is a must.

Enjoy your freshwater fish in a gorgeous gulai tempoyak

Or

Just grill them and eat with air assam

And there you go, a little head-start for you freshwater fish newbies. All that’s left, as ever on FriedChillies, is to enjoy the meal!

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