Pekasam

Pekasam, also spelled pakasam or bekasam, is a Malay term for fermented food, most often a fermented freshwater fish product. In Malay and Banjar cooking it usually means fish cured with salt, palm sugar, toasted rice grains and pieces of asam gelugur, then left for more than a month in a terracotta jar until it turns sour from lactic acid bacteria. The technique is spread across Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo, including Aceh, Riau, South Sumatra, Kapuas Hulu, Banjarmasin and Cirebon, and in northern Malaysia it is produced in Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Sarawak. Beef strips, chicken, mutton and squid eggs are also made into pekasam in Malaysia. It is usually deep-fried and served as a side dish with rice, and in Cirebon it is prepared for Mawlid. In Aceh the same word can mean fermented durian.