Etak (Corbicula fluminea) Reposting an old article.
Raykinzoku wrote a great
informative piece about etak which he called etok (the way the Kelantanese
called it is somewhere in between etak and etok) in his blog: Distinctively KeLaTte : ETOK This is
how Ray describe the etak.
Etok is a small, pebble-sized, freshwater corbicula clam which lives at the
bottom of rivers and canals, alongside scavenging fishes and crustaceans.
Mostly found in the shallows and sandy parts of the river, they are least known
or simply neglected by most Malaysians.
A very apt description. I can't do any better than that. Via his blog we now
know that etok is not only found in Kelantan but also in other states of
Malaysia and as far away as Japan! Only thing I would like to add is it is
found only in fresh waters and it is very sensitive to the quality of the
water.
When I started schooling in 1957, I went to school in Kampong Kangkong about 5
miles from my home in Kg Chekok both in the district of Pasir Mas to live with
my maternal grandparents. The river was our source of life. We get our water
for cooking and drinking from there carrying by the pails. My being small I
have to carry a small container which is a kettle. We depend almost everything
that has got to do with water on the river. Washing, bathing and as the toilet.
A floating raft complete with cubicles with a gunny sack of a curtain as the
door was the public toilet! Transportation back then was by river boat plying
downstream to Pasir Mas and around noon upstream back home. Tarred road only
became available much later.
Above all that we get some of our food like freshwater fish and prawns and etak
from the river too.
Every time we go to the river for whatever activities especially bathing where
we will get wet, we will use the opportunity to collect some etak. Without
the pengokok, we
either use our hands or feet to search for them. To use the hands was easy
provided the place is muddy and there is no pebbles in that area. Most of such
areas are by the river bank and much deeper than the sandy area. The way we do
it is to dive in and feel for the pebble like etak among the mud and throw them
on the bank or put them in the part of the cloth we wore to cover our 'aurat'.
I was considered too small then and can just dip in without covering the
'aurat'. The etok from muddy areas are usually darker in colour and larger. The
sandy areas where the water flows much faster the etak is of much lighter color
and look very clean.
For the sandy areas usually towards the middle of the river where the water
level is much shallower due to flat sandbank, etak can be collected by shifting
the top 2 or 3 inches of the sand on the river bed to one side using our bare
feet. If the etak were there they would be exposed and become visible to the
naked eye provided the water is clear which was often the case in the olden
days. The water should be shallow enough to bend down like you are in the roko' position when doing the prayers. Another condition is
there must not be ripples on the surface of the water which was usually caused
by the wind if it was a windy day. The ripples will prevent you from seeing the
etak when it was exposed. During the dry spell some parts of the riverbed will
be exposed. If it was recently exposed many etak will still survive and there
are tell tale signs to show where the etak are. Digging it with the finger will
expose it and if it is big enough, it will be collected. If the sandy river bed
is exposed to the sun for too long the etak will die off.
Using the pengokok needs
some strength.The pengokok is
made of metal bars of about 2 mm diameter strung together with wires to form an
open cage attached to a long bamboo or wooden pole for handle like in the
picture below. A bamboo pole is preferred as it is lighter.
It is like a sieve to filter out the smaller sands and keep the etak inside.
Some pebbles that are larger than the gaps between the metal sieve will also be
retained. At the stage where the etok and pebbles are caught in the pengokok, an expert can segregate
the etak from the pebbles using the principle of differences of specific
gravity between the etok and the pebbles and the water flowing through the
sieve. While the non expert will have to collect the etak by sight. In places
where the sand is fine, only the etak will remain in it.
My activities of collecting etok ceased after I went to an English school in
Pasir Mas. The occassional weekend trip home didn't provide enough time for
such activities. Only after 1981 when I started working with Kumpulan Fima and
based in Kuala Besut that I began to go to Sungai Besut to collect the etak. The
locals there who were mostly descendents from Kelantan knows how to collect and
consume etak. So whenever I feel like having etak, a trip to the river near Kg
Amir will yield enough etak for my small family.
Later in 1996 when we moved into our own house in Kg. Kasa, Pasir Mas that we
were able to enjoy etak again. Kampong Kasa is located on the bank of Sungai
Kelantan and lots of etak were found. They were gathered and cooked by roasting
it on a small fire after marinating it in a paste made of salt, blended with
lemon grass, shallots, ginger and garlic. I suspect monosodium glutamate is
lavishly added. Some may deny using it entirely to entice those non MSG
consuming etok lovers. The marinating process takes at least an hour.
Before marinating the etak it must be washed clean and soaked in clean water.
The soaking will make the etak purge all sand particles and mud within itself
which may make it feel gritty when eating it if it is not totally purged.
Soaking it over a minimum of 3 hours is necessary and overnight will be best.
Roasting over a small fire on a platform raised 2.5 feet above the floor. The platform is made of long split bamboo pieces spaced close enough to each other to prevent the etak from slipping through. Over a slow fire the etok are constanly turned with a piece of plank attached to a wooden handle. The constant turning over is necessary to ensure evenness of exposure to the heat below. An hour of roasting is enough. Overheating or too long an exposure can result in the split up and the flesh to dry up and become less succulent. If there are extremely large etak in the mix, they must be separated and roasted first before adding the rest to it.
Other than roasting over a fire, the etak can also be roasted in the hot sun.
Some people love it that way. This way will ensure that the flesh will be
succulent enough. For those who make a living out of roasting and selling etok,
the sun is not a reliable source of heat and the timing isn't suitable.
Grilling job must be finished by the latest at 11 am for them to start selling.
Roasted etak or etak salai as
the local term for it is highly hygroscopic due to the salt coating on its
shell. The best container to keep it is a badang which has more surface area or a bakul. A badang is
best. Both are made of plaited bamboo slices and so has better breathing
quality compared to metal containers. Thus the etok will not become wet too
soon due to the hygroscopic nature of the salt coating it. If metal containers
are to be used, absorbing materials are necessary to be placed on the container
before putting the etak in it.
Newspapers being very good material to absorb moisture is the
best material to use as wrappers. Unfortunately the ink used for printing is
hazardous to health and the sellers are often reminded by health inspectors to
refrain from using newspapers as wrappers. If you care for your health, better
don't buy them when they are wrapped in newspapers. If you still have to use
newspapers, quickly transfer them to some other containers so as not to allow
the newspaper ink to stick to the shell of the etak.
Etak salai can be taken as snack or as lauk with rice be it nasi kerabu or nasi putih.
Beside roasting, etok are also consumed by making it into a dish called sayur
etok where the gravy becomes opaque like, after adding pounded shallots, garlic
and crushed lemon grass with salt and sugar to taste. MSG can be used instead
of sugar. For etak masak lemak, santan is used instead of plain water as in the
case of sayur etak. Why the word sayur etak
is used by the Kelantanese really confounds me. It must be the misuse of the
word like they say makan air or makan rokok. Makan angin is of course a
different matter altogether.
Eating sayur etok
or etok masak lemak is
easy as the shell will be split open when subjected to heat but eating etok
salai is a different ball game altogether. To retain the flesh succulent, the
shell must not be allowed to split. If it is splitted, the flesh will dry up.
Lots of practice is required to acquire the skill to open the shell of the
etak. Unlike the cockles which merely needs sufficient force to open them, the
etak is too small and smooth to grip the shell the way you do to cockles. The
regular eaters will just use their teeth to split them using the incisors (the
front teeth) without breaking the two sides apart. The shell should open
outward with the hinged part intact. The next act is to suck out the flesh from
the inner side of the shell. The ingredients sticking to the external part of
the shell will give flavour to the flesh. That is why splitting it with the
teeth always taste better.
Those without the incisors or using dentures can still enjoy etak salai as there are other means of opening it. Ray's mother
taught him how to use the knife to open the shell to save his teeth from
wearing out faster. In Ray's case his mother taught him to scrape the edge of
the etak to reveal the slit between the two sides. Inserting the blade of the
knife and twisting the blade to either side will open the shell. In my case I
will just put the knife blade across the slit and slowly turning the blade to
align with the slit with a little pressure will make the blade penetrate the
slit. A slight twist of the blade will open up the shell.
Using the knife to open the shell
If you don’t have a knife around, using one half of the shell can be a
substitute for the knife. Using the sharp edge of the shell, use it the same
way as a knife. With some practice, it will get just as good as a knife and
less dangerous.
My two grand daughters Lis 8 years old and As 6 yrs from Puchong which I used
to call Budak Puchong in
my earlier blogs is back in Pasir Mas for 2 months. We have introduced them to
etak salai and they are learning up on how to open up the etak with their
teeth. For the moment they could open them but the shells spilt apart. Give
them a bit more time they will soon get the hang of it.
Etak salai can be
purchased in many places like the markets and roadsides. Near my home in
Kampung Kasar there is a special gerai constructed by the Majlis Bandaran Pasir
Mas solely to sell etak. Unfortunately not many sellers prefer the place and
only one or two sellers use the place. Others prefer their own spots down the
road.
I first returned in Pasir
Mas in 1996, etok was still available in the Kelantan river. A few years later
they were not there anymore. What happened?
I asked Syed Azmi a regular etak gatherer whose livelihood solely depends on
etak. He said etak disappeared from the Kelantan river some years back. The
reasons was the proliferation of the use of chemicals to catch udang galah, the fresh water prawns.
The other reason is the many sand mining operations along the river. The spawns
of the etak were sucked up by the powerful water pumps used to suck up the sand
being mined.
So where does the etak come from now?
He said he has to go everywhere as far as Pekan in Pahang, Terengganu, Sungai
Sayong in Kota Tinggi Johor and Perak to get his supplies. He will go in a mini
lorry with his other brothers and brother in law. They now know where the
locations are and every trip will secure about 100 kg. His own need is about 30
kg per day so he had to store them somewhere. Earlier they tried putting them
in the Kelantan river and harvest them again for use on the day itself. To his
consternation he found that only 50 percent survived. That was a heavy price to
pay. Now he kept them under refrigeration. At RM8.00 a kg, his loss was quite
substantial.
A commentator at Ray's blog said etak was a nuisance at his place in Pahang.
During the dry season they had this vast expanse of flat sandbar near they
village which they use as a football field. They even call it the stadium. The
problem is the dead etak leave behind sharp shells that often cut up the
players feet as 'beach soccer' is of course played bare footed in his kampong
in Pahang. He is appealing to anybody to come and harvest all the etak from his
place. It will be a gold mine to people like Syed Azmi if he were to know the
place. Unfortunately Pahang banned etak gathering as etak is considered as food
for their fresh water fish.
The only solution is to educate the people there on how to consume etak. Once
they have acquired the taste, they will harvest them for their own consumption.
Another way is to teach them how to harvest the etak and sell them in Kelantan.
It will be an economic activity and contribute to their income. Hey isn't that
an easy way to make money?
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