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Fermentation Atlas

Fish and seafood from Malaysia

Cincalokcincalok

Tiny fresh Acetes shrimp are mixed with salt and sugar, sometimes with cooked rice, and sealed in a jar for a few days. The shrimp turn soft, bright pink and savoury as the pH drops from about 8 to about 5.5. Cincalok is a quick, low-salt shrimp ferment eaten with shallot, chilli and lime. Made in 4 steps over 21 days – 32 days. The longest step, eat within weeks, before it browns, takes up to 18 days (Nofiani R 2021). Salt is 4 % (Nofiani R 2021). Tetragenococcus and Lactobacillus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 18 daysReported[nofiani2021]Eat within weeks, before it browns
Salt4 %Reported[nofiani2021]Mix with salt and sugar
AciditypH 5.3Measured[nofiani2021]Eat within weeks, before it browns

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe original recipe (recipe A) a West Kalimantan producer made for a 2021 study. Malaysian recipes use the same shrimp, salt and sugar with no fixed amounts.
2 kgFresh rebon shrimp (Acetes) · Sorted and rinsed with seawater[nofiani2021]
400 gGranulated sugar[nofiani2021]
100 gCoarse salt[nofiani2021]
To tasteShallot, bird's-eye chilli, lime juice · Added when it is served[jkkn-cencaluk]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days – 32 days

Start
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What changes: The tiny shrimp are picked clean and rinsed in seawater

Step 1 of 4
Sort and rinse the shrimp
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Tetragenococcus make
Tetragenococcus
Lactobacillus

Bits of small fish and debris are picked out and the shrimp are rinsed in seawater. Output: clean fresh shrimp.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Cincalok is a ferment of whole raw shrimp that is ready in days. Belacan and kapi are made from the same kind of shrimp but are salted harder, dried and pounded into a firm paste that ages for weeks or months.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Ronto (South Kalimantan)The South Kalimantan name for the same shrimp ferment; the market samples studied were made with salt only.
  • Cincalok with chilli or garlicAdding red chilli or garlic powder changes the colour; garlic gave a paler pink and scored best with consumers in one study.

Safety

Cincalok is low in salt (about 4 % in one recipe) and ends near pH 5.3–5.5. The FDA's pathogen table puts the limits for growth of proteolytic Clostridium botulinum at pH 4.6 and 10 % water-phase salt, so neither salt nor acid alone is a full barrier, and cincalok is a short-life food. Malaysian cincalok averaged 126.1 mg/kg histamine and 448.8 mg/kg tyramine (Saaid et al. 2009), above the FDA's 50 ppm histamine guidance level for fish. Use fresh shrimp.

Hazards the sources name: Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae (tested for over 28 days and not found).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Cencaluk is believed to come from Sumatra and to have reached the Malay Peninsula through trade. It is part of Malay home cooking and festive meals in Melaka, Johor and Pahang (JKKN).

  1. [nofiani2021] Nofiani R., Syahmurdiandi N.M., Ardiningsih P. 2021, The effects of garlic and red chilli pepper powder on physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of cincalok, Int. J. Food Sci. 2021:2882005, doi:10.1155/2021/2882005paper
  2. [murwani2024] Murwani R., Anggraeni R., Setiawan G.N.A. et al. 2024, Lactic acid bacteria isolates and the microbiome of cincalok, tempoyak, and mandai, Int. J. Food Sci. 2024:6589766, doi:10.1155/2024/6589766paper
  3. [saaid2009] Saaid M., Saad B., Hashim N.H. et al. 2009, Determination of biogenic amines in selected Malaysian food, Food Chem. 113(4):1356–1362, doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.08.070 (abstract)paper
  4. [jkkn-cencaluk] Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara (Malaysia), Cultural mapping, Cencalukgov
  5. [fda-ch7] US FDA 2011, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, 4th ed., Chapter 7, Scombrotoxin (histamine) formationgov
  6. [fda-app4] US FDA 2011, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, 4th ed., Appendix 4, Bacterial pathogen growth and inactivation, Table A-1gov
  7. [s1] Wikipedia, Shrimp paste (outline only)wiki