Pansoh

Fresh fish, especially the ones that you catch in fresh water river are rescaled and chopped into small pieces. Then you seasoned them with some salt, tamarind and herbs such as "bungai kenchala". Then it is left to marinate.




After about half an hour later, the fish is pushed into bamboo stems. Do not fill it up and allow some space for breathing and plugging.




The plugging is done by using leaves of tapioca. Use the young shoots and completely plug the open end of the bamboo stem.




The bamboo stems are then placed over a slow burning fire. Ultra care must be taken to ensure that the fish inside the bamboo stems are evenly cooked. To do so, the bamboo stems are from time to time must be rotated and the fire must not flame too much. A burnt bamboo stem will does not necessarily mean that the fish is cooked.





As the colour of the bamboo stem changes from green to dark brown, there must be no more flame. Only the heat from the charcoal is left to heat the fish inside them bamboo stem. Experienced folks can expertly tell you if the fish is fully cooked just by shaking the stem a bit and hear the sound from inside. For others, they have to unplugged the top and peeked through or just pour a bit into the plate to determine if it is cooked or not.