Candat Sotong Trip - Pulau Kapas…. Hilarious.
I love an open sea; the border less nature of the ocean is a vivid reminder of my yesteryear's childhood journey. Life then was simple, unadulterated with technologies and cyber influence.
Going to school was fun, tuition was unheard of. The only ‘tuition’ that I knew was the ‘Kelas Quran’. I don’t quite recall how smart/slow I was in learning Quran, there was no yard stick imposed, no tests, but when I reached my 10th birthday, I completed reading the whole holy book, without understanding the content, poor me. In this respect, I was not alone, every one in my kampong followed similar ‘blueprint’. Understanding the content was not seen critical, completing the holy book was mandatory. Completing Quran was not without ordeal though; one would be embarrassed to the core, if one does not complete it by end of primary 6. We completed ours within the stipulated time frame.
My father held a small kenduri as a mark of celebration and more so for his self esteem, ‘informing’ the kampong folks that we were the obedient lot, thus deserved the ‘khatam’ ceremony.
The busiest person putting the house and ceremony to order was my late aunt, fondly known as Ma Lang Yam, my dad’s elder sister, my favorite aunt, (may her soul rests in peace. Amin)
Usually after such ‘achievement’, we would also be rewarded with ‘an outing”. In this case to Mak Lang Yam’s home in Teluk Kumbar, a classic fishing village, located to the south west of Penang Island, Now the place is famous for it’s incredible Mee Udang. Some people vouch that nowadays, if you go to Penang, your visit is a waste if you don’t savor this special Mee Udang.
Mak Lang Yam’s husband, fondly addressed as Pak Lang Lek, (may his soul rests in peace, Amin) was a fisherman, however I seldom met him, every time we went to their home, he was either out in the sea fishing or somewhere with his fisherman friends, mending the net. However, what I recalled most about him, was his astounding coming home, he would always bring home bountiful catch from the sea.
As for me, I simply loved the smell of the fresh fishes, crabs, prawns, etcetera, etcetera. Mak Lang would creatively cook the catch, and the spread was opulent. The fish would be turned into delicious Penang curry, the very recipe that I treasure until today. The prawns would end up as deep fried in turmeric seasonings, and the blue flower crab would settle nicely in a steamer, complimented with mouth watering air asam cili padi, I must confess, Mak Lang’s dishes were always hailed as world best, of course by my standard!
When my brothers were in their mid teens, Pak Lang would sometimes take them out in his fishing boat, just to excite them with the cheap thrill of been inside the boat. They would then came home laden with enchanting stories, at times tainted with tell tales anecdote on how incredible the boat was, detailed enough to turn me green with envy.
Pak Lang’s effort was not wasted, as later part in my brothers’ lives; they took up fishing as their hobbies. As for me, growing up against similar background, I too love fishing, but again, a bystander with no significance.
After 50 years of waiting, in May 2009, my two brothers suddenly turned out as good Samaritans and were ‘kind’ enough to arrange for a fishing trip that my family and I could join in yes something that I have wished for.
Yezza…quote from the current popular TV host, we were going for candat sotong (squid fishing) in Pulau Kapas, the legendry island off coast of Terrenganu.
Orchestrated by the ‘experienced’ duo, the preparation was fervent, the fishing equipments must be complete and tip top, medicines for the sea sickness must on the top of the list, gloves for holding the fishing rod was also top priority, the hat, sunglasses, not to mention the swimming attires for the snorkeling, wo…wooo interesting. Last but not least the ‘Coleman Ice Bucket” for the sotong. That was crucial, the bucket would ensure the freshness of the catch, and must be large enough to accommodate an anticipated hefty and bountiful catch.
The journey to Pulau Kapas would en route Marang jetty using a speedboat.
The insignificant enthusiastic group arriving at Marang Jetty.
Last minute check for the Coleman Ice bucket. 
First timer.
Picturesque Pulau Kapas seen from the sea..
Some were enjoying the speedboat ride, some were engrossed in prayers.
Arriving in Pulau Kapas.
Regaining the souls after the rough speedy ride... 
Some were well prepared with highest level of confidence.
Gearing up for the candat sotong trip, at 5pm.
Intensive practical/hands-on session on fishing rod handling. 
At last after 50years of waiting, seafarers in the making. All were medically supported with sea sickness tablets, and equipped with fishing rods and baits.
The enthusiast versus the worried generation.
Typical wave that accompanied our ride to the squid schools 
Sunset at 7.15pm the marvel of Allah’s gift to mankind. The place where we anchored the boat, this is where the story of candat sotong began…
The last photo taken just before the majestic wave rocked the boat mercilessly that sent 80% of the newly born seafarers temporary ‘paralyzed’ from head to toe.
The situation was sad indeed, despite the well-prescribed sea sickness medicine, they did nothing.
The ‘fishing’ was left to the 20% of the population when the rest virtually fell flat to the floor. The excitement of catching and hailing out sotong from the majestic ocean was reduced to a mere silence, with occasional noise of throwing ups, emptying stomach contents uncontrollably.
The next day we were told that they caught 20 sotongs that filled up one tenth of the Coleman space! At least the Coleman did serve its basic purpose.
During the postmortem the following were discovered:
- Hot coffee that was brought to the boat was untouched
- Dinner packs were not eaten either
- Several packs of hand gloves were still in plastic wraps
- Seasickness tables must be sent back to the Ministry of Health for further examination, they did not work!!!!
- Strong underlying reason why women could never be good seafarers
- A smaller Coleman ice bucket was highly recommended for our next trip
On reaching home, the fresh sotong were turned into our favorite dish i.e. kerabu sotong. This is my family favorite. It is my pleasure to share this recipe with all my readers
Kerabu Sotong
Ingredients:
2 pieces of 1-foot long sotong, clean and slice into 0.5 cm rings
2 pieces serai – slice into small pieces
2 pieces bunga kantan-slice into small pieces
1 cm ginger – slice then cut thinly
1 piece big onion- slice thinly
8 - 10 pieces cili padi - slice thinly
A small bunch of coriander leaves- just the leaves-cut coarsely
Seasoning
1 lime – make into 1 table spoon juice
1-tablespoon fish sauce
Salt to taste (optional)
1-tablespoon gula melaka or brown sugar (to individual taste)
1-tablespoon olive oil
Method
- Boil 3 cups of water, put in the ringed sotong, about 30 sec to 1 minute, sotongs will turn color and expand. Quickly scoop out, drain and set aside. (Over cooking will harden the flesh)
- Mix sotong with all sliced ingredients
- Pour in the seasoning and mix well.
- Its best to prepare and refrigerate 1 hour before eating time.
Enjoy…
Our next trip is to Pulau Perhentian insyaAllah.
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