Ikan Buris or Shit eating fish (siak sai ngii) is a fresh water fish which does not have a good name because it is top feeder. Most people will not eat it.
But during the Japanese Occupation when food was had to come by this fish was in fact over fished. Most of my relatives today have tales of eating the fish.
Ikan buris can be hooked or a good fisherman can use a cast net to get probably 10 at one throw of his net.
In the olden days it was a happy sight for many fishermen when they could get many at one time.
According to my Melanau friend, people during the Japanese Occupation found many different ways of cooking the fish so that the elders and the children would eat the fish and not suffer from malnutrition.
A school headmistress once told me that she had the fish cleaned very well with lime juice and then grilled the fish for her ailing grandmother.
My grandfather however was a practical man and he cleaned the fish and just boiled the fish in a soup. All the children had to eat the fish whether they liked it or not.
My cousin Yew Ping always told us that she had to clean a lot of the fish because Grandpa would buy about 10 as the fish was really cheap. She was not always pleased to clean the fish. You can imagine that. But she had to do her job.
This siak sai ngii cost only a few cents a kati. And it is very good protein.
Today many people cook it in soups with vegetables. It can also be coated with flour and turmeric and fried. sometimes ikan buris can be curried if it is very fresh. But the cook has to clean the fish really well.
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