Many Malaysian companies are producing Pati Ikan Haruan or Fish Essence, similar to Brand's Essence of Chicken to help people who after surgery require a speedy recovery. Wounds seem to heal faster when the patients drink soup made from this fish. At one time the price of this fish soared up to RM40 a kg in Miri. Today the price has stablished a little, hovering around 18 a kg for the larger species.
Ikan Toman actually can be found in fresh water streams all over Sarawak. The most popular streams being the drains of the rubber gardens and the padi fields.
During padi planting seasons the farmers often trap this fish for their dinner. According to an Iban legend, ikan toman can even be found in a hollow of trees which can trap water for a long time!! This is to tell the Ibans that nature has a wonderful way of rewarding the good people.
There are many ways of cooking it. Steamed, or even double steamed with ginger and a bit of good wine, would give one the purest nourishing clear soup for healing of wounds. Deep fried, the toman is tasty. Toman can be salted or kesamed. It can also be cooked in bamboo with ginger, lemon grass and wild bamboo shoots. It can be roasted over a fire, occasionally wrapped in any kind of leaves, especially banana leaves. It can also be curried. A very versatile ULU fish. One day it will become an endangered species.
So I have been wondering if hunters, fishermen and farmers have ever found ikan toman in the hollows of trees.
5 comments:
We called it 'Ley Hu' in Hokkien. Used to catch them when i was a kid in Sibu. The fries of Ley Hu,if I remember correctly, have florescence tip on the head.
is it 'leh ngi' in foochow? similar to leh hu in Hokkian
Actually I remember many of my friends in Sibu catching leh hu or leh ngii...and how they made a bit of money. Today these are highly valued. How times changed. I have never seen the fries of the fish. Pity.
Yes Leh Ngii in Foochow.
Ikan Toman and Ikan Haruan are different fish, at least in Malay culture/language. Ikan Toman refers to the Giant snakehead which is the largest in snakehead family and native to Southeast Asia while Ikan Haruan refers to the common snakehead which is smaller. I am not sure about 'Leh Ngi' in Foochow but 'Ley Hu' in Hokkien refers to the "Sang Yu" in Cantonese which is the common snakehead or another variety of smaller snakehead native in South and Central of China. I have heard before that some Hokkien people refers Ikan Toman as the "Siam Lueh/Lui" which basically mean Thai Snakehead (don't really know why refer it as Thai when Toman exist in all countries of Southeast Asia).
By the way, anyone here who are able to give some of the missing Hokkien name in this list?
https://redd.it/8bfrs7
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