Good things really come in small packages. Take satar, a spicy, fragrant fish-based snack from the east coast state of Terengganu, Malaysia. Satar is made from deboned sardine and grated coconut with a mixture of spices and herbs. The paste is then wrapped in a banana leaf into a small pyramid which is grilled over charcoal using metal or wooden skewers, and topped with chopped chillies.

A local favourite, it’s also in the unwrapping of the satar that we can map present and traditional links of Malaysia’s communities with their coastal and marine ecosystems. From its ingredients, preparation, cooking methods and techniques to its unique flavours, traditional foods like satar continues to underpin our understanding of these connections.

For 41 year-old Terengganu native, Rozita Nurul Kamal Din, appreciation of this connection started early. She learnt how to make the snack from her mother, a transmission of food practice knowledge common in Malay culture, and which reinforces her east coast identity.

Originally from Kuala Terengganu, the bustling capital of Terengganu, Rozita now lives in Setiu, a district with a relatively small population of around 68,000 people. “My mother was a trader and sold satar and pulut lepa (cooked glutinous rice with fish fillet and grated coconut flesh filling). I observed how she prepared and cooked it from scratch—from the recipes to the technique used,” she remarks fondly.

Making satar

The whole process from preparation to grilling the satar takes about an hour, and she cooks by “agak-agak”, a Malay term described as a “guesstimation”. With recipes committed to memory and handed down from generation to generation, it’s a technique based not on following set recipes or instructions, but using intuition built on years of practice and personal preference.

“The sardines have to be fresh, and a kilogram of fish will need about half a kilogram of grated young coconut. I only prepare satar for special occasions so my paste has ginger, black pepper, tamarind juice, bay leaves and fenugreek. I also like to use shrimp paste to overcome the fishy odour.”

She explains that sardines are used for satar because of the fish’s abundance. Fishermen used to bring in decent hauls, but at the time lacked the modern refrigeration to store the leftover fish. Instead of throwing them away, they made them into satar.

It’s also in the unwrapping of the satar that we can map present and traditional links of Malaysia’s communities with their coastal and marine ecosystems

Freshness, Rozita emphasises, is the enduring feature. “With plenty of fish and coconut in Terengganu, satar is never pre-made. We make the mixture, wrap it in banana leaf and grill it for about 30 minutes. The sticks used to grill them also determines the taste and texture of the satar. I know my satar is ready by the colour of the banana leaf and the heat of the sticks when I touch them. This is harder to find out when you use metal or bamboo sticks.”

Rozita swears by her sticks, which are made of nibong palm (Oncosperma tigillaria). The nibong wood is collected from inland, lower salinity waters near mangrove swamps and is hard and lasting, used as building material for beams and fences, and can be made into utensils like ladles and scoops. One of Rozita’s heirlooms is her late father’s nibong sticks—they’re now more than 20 years old but still lovingly used.

There is, however, more than meets the eye with Rozita’s love for this traditional snack and its significance in her life.

The link between plate and planet

Making this link from plate to planet has galvanised Rozita to become an active member of a local social entrepreneurship and ecotourism NGO called the Setiu Wetlands Discovery (ECOSWED).

Officially formed in 2018, the NGO highlights the importance of mangroves and the coastal ecosystems for their livelihoods, and its importance in preserving the traditional culture and food of the fishing communities in the district. It currently has 20 members, all women, from four villages in Setiu. Rozita joined ECOSWED in April 2018 and has been an active member in its activities and programmes, which are centred around micro-businesses and entrepreneurship. ECOSWED promotes eco-tourism as a way to encourage greater economic participation for women by emphasising the local cuisine.

Their work highlights Terengganu’s culinary heritage, and provides an intimate look into its natural assets.

Jarina Mohd Jani, Head of Setiu Wetland Field Research Station and a human ecologist from the School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, explains that satar as a protein-based food depends on the availability of local resources. Sardines are small pelagics which are a healthy and affordable food source and contribute to the nutritional security of many coastal households.

“It is most likely that sardines were originally used for satar because the fish end up as bycatch. While it is a common fish, we don’t really know just how much of pelagic species (which live and feed away from the bottom of the sea) are impacted by modern fisheries. We can see less of certain fish in the markets and they are more expensive. How healthy are our fish populations? The sustainability of signature snacks like satar depends on the productivity of the sea.”

Rozita echoes the observation that the price of fish has gone up, but claims that there’s still an abundant supply of sardines in the area. “However, preparing the fresh sardines to minced fish flesh is a complex and tedious process. Nowadays, I will buy the fish meat from a factory located in Setiu that produces fish paste products for food like satar and keropok lekor (fish crackers).”

Fish parcels across the region

While satar, with its pyramid shape, is unique to Terengganu, Jani says that variations of the fish parcel can be found in other states like Perak, Kedah and Johor in different flavours and shapes. “What makes satar unique is that it’s a dish that marries the best of the hinterland and the coast—from the wood used to its distinctive ingredients.”

Other types of fish parcels can be found across the Southeast Asian region; what links them is the way they connect people to their natural environments. For example, mok pa is a steamed fish with herbs wrapped in banana leaves from Laos and tied with bamboo. Amok trey, a Cambodian fish curry steamed in banana leaves, traditionally uses catfish, which is common in the area. A specialty in Northern Thailand is the aeb, a dish “to eat on the go” of little packets of marinated spicy fish (catfish and tilapia), wrapped in banana leaves and roasted over fire.

While encompassing economic, environmental and social dimensions, traditional food is often not promoted or leveraged adequately to drive the sustainability point home

These examples embody how the intangible cultural heritage of food is inseparable from the natural environment. Traditional gastronomy is often a complex cultural model that binds these strong connections.

When explored beyond the palate and plate, traditional food trails highlight the relationships between the land (such as the breeds of animals or seeds we use), traditional processing techniques, folklore, cultural landscape and natural resources. While encompassing economic, environmental and social dimensions, traditional food is often not promoted or leveraged adequately to drive the sustainability point home.

In the case of satar, it’s important to recognise that its cultural and historical values are inextricably linked to Terengganu’s biodiversity, and to anchor this understanding for the conservation and preservation of this culinary heritage.