"Asam pedas" (or "Asam padeh" in Minangkabau) is a Malay-Minangkabau dish that can be found in Riau and the surrounding area.. It is a type sour and spicy fish stew dish. The main ingredients in "asam pedas" are usually seafood or freshwater fish. They are cooked in "asam" (tamarind) fruit juice with chilli and spices. The cooking process involves soaking the pulp of the tamarind fruit until it is soft and then squeezing out the juice for cooking the fish. "Asam" paste may be substituted for convenience. Vegetables such as "terong" or "brinjals" (Indian eggplants), okra and tomatoes are added. Fish and seafood – such as mackerel, mackerel tuna, tuna, skipjack tuna, red snapper, gourami, pangasius, hemibagrus or cuttlefish – either the whole body or sometimes only the fish heads are added to make a spicy and tart fish stew. It is important that the fish remain intact for serving so generally the fish is added last. In the Riau region, the most common fish used in asam pedas is "tongkol" (mackerel tuna).