Miri - Ikan Buntal

Want lanterns for the Chinese New Year?

A Mirian  fisherman has come up with a fantastic idea of a lantern made from the dried body of a local puffer fish known as Ikan Buntal.  From the village of Bakam this nice gentleman, however is not selling his creative work. He has made several lanterns and he uses two of them for his foodstall at the Saberkas Pasar Tani or Open Air Weekend Market.

Pufferfish are poor swimmers, but can quickly ingest huge amounts of water to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size.

Also known as blowfish, they develop their famous “inflatability” because their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size. Some species also have spines on their skin to make them even less palatable.

A predator that manages to snag a puffer before it inflates won’t feel lucky for long. Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to fish. To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide.(source : http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/pufferfish/)

Fugu is a famous Japanese delicacy prepared from the delicate flesh of the ikan buntal, using very careful techniques. Only certified chefs in Japan are allowed to prepare Fugu.

All photos were taken at Pasar Tani, Miri.