Empurau Royal Super King 雪野生花忘不了王中王
雪花忘不了王中王, also known as Empurau Royal Super King, is a native fish to the upper section of the Rajang River in Sarawak, Malaysia. Empurau is ranked 1st in the top 10 freshwater fish in Malaysia. Even within the ranks of Empuraus, only the cream of the crop is named Empurau Royal Super King.
Wild Empurau is crafty and is one of the fastest fish in the Rajang River, contributing to its value as the most expensive freshwater fish due to the increased difficulty in catching them.
Empuraus grow very slowly; in the first year, it weighs about 4.5 grams. In the second year, it grows to between 1 to 2 kilograms and about 3 to 5 kilograms in three years’ time. Empuraus below 3kg are considered fish fry, while those above 3kg are then considered adult fish. Therefore, a large wild Empurau is rare and difficult to come by. A 7kg wild Empurau will be at least 10 years old.
Generally, the best tasting Empuraus weigh between 5 to 10kg and are usually recommended.
The wild Empurau has three characteristics: sharp head, convex head and back, small hump outside the connection between head and back and observable fish belly.
Wild Empurau’ s diet consists mainly of the Combretocarpus (commonly known as windmill fruit in Chinese or Emkabang in Malay), and this results in the meat of the fish containing a tinge of the fruit’s flavour. This is why the local populace calls the fish “Unforgettable” or 忘不了. Steaming and roasting is the ideal cooking method for such a priced delicacy.
The Empuraus’ scales can be fried and served as another dish resembling potato chips, to go along with the fish.