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Fermentation Atlas

Fish and seafood from Malaysia

Pekasam (acid-assisted)pekasam

Acid-assisted pekasam is the faster form of Malaysian ikan pekasam. Freshwater fish are salted and packed with ground roasted rice, and the maker also adds tamarind pulp or dried slices of asam gelugur (Garcinia atroviridis). The added fruit acid shortens the fermentation and raises the lactic acid content. Made in 3 steps over 14 days – 28 days. The longest step, pack and ferment, takes 14–28 days (Narzary Y 2021). Salt is 10–16 % (Narzary Y 2021).

Key numbers
Main step14–28 daysReported[narzary2021][chayu2024][ghazali2021]Pack and ferment
Salt10–16 %Reported[narzary2021][chayu2024]Salt the fish
AciditypH 4.5–6.1Reported[narzary2021]Pack and ferment
DocumentedFish and seafood14 days – 28 daysFamily: PekasamMore fish and seafoodMore from Malaysia

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe studies analysed commercial products and give no recipe amounts; the salt level is from reviews of pekasam in general.
Freshwater fish such as Javanese carp (Puntius gonionotus) or black tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus)[ezzat2015][ghazali2021]
10–16 % (reviews give more than 10 %)Salt[narzary2021][chayu2024]
Ground roasted uncooked rice · The main source of carbohydrate for the lactic bacteria[ezzat2015]
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) pulp or dried slices of Garcinia atroviridis fruit · The acid added in the acid-assisted form[ezzat2015][ghazali2021]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 14 days – 28 days

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a fishSalt 10–16 %

What changes: Salt draws water out of the freshwater fish

Step 1 of 3
Salt the fish
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
10–16 %
Reported
Acidity
Not documented
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

Plain pekasam relies on the lactic bacteria alone to sour the fish. The acid-assisted form adds tamarind or asam gelugur, which shortens the fermentation; pH, acidity and salt did not predict which samples tasters liked.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Tamarind pekasamTamarind pulp supplies tartaric acid.
  • Asam gelugur pekasamDried Garcinia atroviridis slices supply garcinia acid.

Safety

Commercial pekasam has carried several Listeria species, linked to poor handling. A study of 15 commercial samples measured histamine and other biogenic amines in natural and acid-assisted pekasam; its abstract gives no levels.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria spp. (L. ivanovii, L. innocua, L. seeligeri, L. welshimeri) in commercial pekasam, linked to poor handling.

History and sources

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

  1. [ezzat2015] Ezzat M.A., Zare D., Karim R., Ghazali H.M. 2015, Trans- and cis-urocanic acid, biogenic amine and amino acid contents in ikan pekasam (fermented fish) produced from Javanese carp and black tilapia, Food Chemistry 172:893–899 (abstract)paper
  2. [ghazali2021] Ghazali M.H., Ezzat M.A., Roselina K., Zare D. 2021, Organic acid composition and consumer acceptability of fermented fish produced from black tilapia and Javanese carp using natural and acid-assisted fermentation, Food Research 5(2):262–271 (abstract)paper
  3. [narzary2021] Narzary Y., Das S., Goyal A., Lam S., Sarma H., Sharma D. 2021, Fermented fish products in South and Southeast Asian cuisine, Journal of Ethnic Foods 8:33, doi:10.1186/s42779-021-00109-0 (tables 1 and 2)paper
  4. [chayu2024] Cha Y.J., Yu D. 2024, Health benefits and functions of salt-fermented fish, Journal of Ethnic Foods 11:34 (table 1)paper