Pinasakan is a Kadazandusun staple from Sabah that most peninsular Malaysians have never heard of, and honestly that's their loss. The dish is simple: small fish (usually basung, which is mackerel scad) simmered with turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, and a souring agent, the traditional choice being takob-akob, a wild fruit that grows in Sabah, though bambangan or tamarind works too. No coconut milk, no frying, no heavy rempah. The result is a tangy, lightly brothy fish dish that tastes way more interesting than it sounds. At 240 calories for two fish plus broth, the calorie count is genuinely low, and 34g of protein from one lauk is better than most things on a nasi campur spread. Fair warning though: these numbers are a ballpark estimate because hard nutritional data on Pinasakan is basically nonexistent. The figures here are built from the fish species and cooking method, treat them as a reasonable guide rather than a lab result.
What actually moves the numbers is the fish size and whether anyone decided to fry the fish first before simmering, which some cooks do. If you get a larger serving or bigger fish (say tenggiri instead of basung), you're looking at closer to 280 calories. The broth itself contributes almost nothing calorie-wise, maybe 10 to 15 calories, so drinking the broth is fine. Where people wreck the maths is on the rice side: most Sabahans eat this with a generous plate of rice, so add 200 to 350 calories depending on your portion lah. Pinasakan as a lauk is one of the easiest high-protein, low-fat choices you can make at a Sabah spread. The rice is where you have to use your head.