Sarawak Ethnic Cuisine

Nasik Aruk (Nasi Goreng)

2011-11-29T10:00:00.004+08:00

Sarawak Fried Rice

This shall be the first Malay cooking that will be included in Sarawak Ethnic Food. Nasik Aruk or simply nasi goreng (fried rice) of Sarawak version is very basic and simple. However, as it is the version of fried rice that we have known since we were very young, we are very fond of this fried rice as it always reminds us of moms who prepared it for us to bring to school. This fried rice is also can be commonly found at Malay coffee shop and food stalls.

Basic Ingredient:

1. Leftover Rice
2. Dried anchovies
3. Garlic
4. Salt
5. 2 tbsp cooking oil

Additional ingredient:
6. 1 Bird eye's chili
7. 1 Egg
8. Half Onion
9. A dash of white pepper

Optional:
MSG

Method:
1. Heat up cooking oil. Fried anchovies until crispy. Set aside
2. Saute garlic until fragrant. Mix the egg and stir until cooked.
3. On high fire, add-in the rice. Stir. Add in salt, then onion.
4. Keep stirring and let rest alternately until you achieve a slightly smokey burnt smell.
5. Add the bird-eye chili and white pepper last, then gave a final stir.
6. Serve.

Pig Maw/Stomach in Chili & Pineapple

2011-09-04T16:11:00.007+08:00

Perut Babi Masak Cili & Nenas

This dish is one of the more elaborate cooking for the Dayak, normally can be found during Gawai festival. The ingredient is simple and easily available, but the cooking time can take about 3 hours including of pre-boiling the chewy parts. It's very tasty, that is, if you can stomach it. Not everyone have the penchant for eating the internal organs of the animal/poultry. But once you get to taste this, you'll never look at eating organs other than the meat, ever the same anymore.

Ingredient:
1/2 whole garlic
5 shallots
1 cm ginger
2 cm cube shrimp paste (belacan) - optional
1 table spoon tamarind paste
3 table spoon Maggi Chili sauce
2 table spoon Maggi Tomato sauce
Dried chillies, de-seeded and soaked - 10 for paste, 3 for garnish
500gm Sarawak pineapple, almost ripe
500gm pig maw/stomach (clean with lime, then boil until soft enough to chew)
Salt & Sugar to taste
1/4 cup cooking oil

Method:
1. Garlic and shallot to be pound separately.
2. Chillies to be pounded/blended until smooth paste.
3. Heat up cooking oil. Saute garlic and shallot until fragrant.
4. Stir in chili paste. Reduce fire, then add in chili and tomato sauce and shrimp paste.
5. When the sauces start to boil up, increase fire and add in the pig maw/stomach. Stir evenly. Add a cup of water if necessary. Cover for 15minutes.
6. When the water dried up, add in the pineapple. Stir evenly, then cover. Reduce fire to medium, and stir once in a while within 15 minutes. It's cooked when the pineapple is soften and the juice came out. Add in the chili garnish.
7. Season with salt and sugar. Suit to required dryness.

Best serve with hot white rice.

Note : Pig intestine can be used for this dish.

Sup Ponas Bidayuh

2011-08-08T10:00:00.003+08:00

Sup Ponas

Looks can be deceiving. Never under estimate how potent this simple plain-looking soup can be.

The first time I heard about this soup, I was wondering so much how it tasted like. I have no idea at all what was the ingredient and how it looks like, but this soup kept coming up in conversations among my Bidayuh friends whenever we talked about Bidayuh traditional foods.

So I asked for the recipe from a good friend, Anya, and she gladly shared it with me. One look at the recipe, I thought it looks pretty familiar, and I can literally tasted and smell it already just by reading it.

And true enough, when all the ingredient came together in the pot, one memory struck in my mind. It brought me back to the time when I was about 7 years old, I had joined a group of much older ladies who happened to have 'man bijo' (which means cookout in Bidayuh), and it was the first time I had this dish. It was spicy, and the aroma from the lemongrass was heavenly. It was so delicious!! I never forget that wonderful memory..

It was pretty similar to the soup I used for my Sup Sago (Linut/Ambuyat), with the exception that I used additional tempoyak (fermented durian) in that dish.

Ingredient:
2 cloves of garlic
2 stalk of lemongrass
Sambal belacan
(The chillies to put as much as you can tolerate)
Salt to taste
1 cup of grated tapioca/cassava

Optional Ingredient:
Fermented Durian (Tempoyak)
MSG

Tapioca Root

Grated Tapioca

Method:
1. Saute garlic until fragrant.
2. Add in water. Don't forget to lower down your temperature since the pot is very hot, before pouring in the water. Then raise the gas to high to boil the water.
3. Add in lemongrass and sambal belacan. Add in salt.
4. Then add in the grated tapioca bit by bit until the tapioca turn transparent and to required consistency.
5. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Laksa Sarawak

2011-08-06T10:35:00.003+08:00

Laksa Sarawak

I have been refraining myself from putting up this dishes, as I felt that it does not really can be categorized into traditional food. But what is a Sarawak Food website without it's Laksa Sarawak?

Laksa Sarawak I should say, is the most famous dish which is easily identifiable with Sarawak, thanks to internet and blogging world. I love laksa and curries a lot, and while I cannot say which one is the best, to me Laksa Sarawak is... home. Those who compares Laksa Sarawak with the other laksa in Malaysia, does not understand what Laksa Sarawak is about.

I would not go into detail about the history of Laksa Sarawak, but suffice to say that this Sarawakian Chinese dish has become so dear to almost every Sarawakian wherever they are.

To make Laksa Sarawak is actually quite easy and does not require precise cooking skill, provided you can obtain the laksa paste which is available only in Sarawak. You can buy it online, you can also obtained the Halal-produced laksa paste. Not that the non-Halal-produced contained any non-halal ingredient anyway. The only reason why Laksa Sarawak making is such a fuss is that the preparation of the laksa base and its garnishing can be pretty time consuming. I will add few tips on how to 'repair' the laksa if it is not up to your expectation at the end, which I have learned myself and you might not normally encounter in other Laksa Sarawak recipe.

Ingredient:
For laksa gravy~
1 packet of Laksa Sarawak paste
2 litres of water (or chicken stock)
500gm of chicken parts (skinless)
1 cup of thick coconut milk
Salt to taste

For garnishing~
Rice vercimelli (blanced in slightly warm water and drained)
Bean Sprout (blanced in hot water for abt 10 second and dump in cold water)
Coriander
Lime
Omellete (slice thinly)
Chicken shreds (used back from the laksa stock making)
Prawn (skin peeled-off and deveined. Put the shell and the head back into the gravy base)

For side dip~
Shrimp paste (belacan)-grill lightly
Dry chillies
1 tbsp water
Cooking
(Pound dry chillies, saute then add in belacan. Add in a bit of water for desired consistency).

Method:
1. Boil chicken parts in water. Once cooked, take it out and cooled it down. Once cool, shred the chicken meat off the bones. Put back the bones to the gravy base.
2. The prawn's shell and it's head, put it to be boil together with the gravy base.
3. To prepare prawn, boil some water in separate pan. Cook for a minute, then take out and dump the prawn in icy water to stop it from further cooking. Drain and keep it in the fridge until ready to use.
4. Add laksa paste into the gravy base. Stir it often.
5. Add in the coconut milk. Set the fire to medium low and let it simmer until the oil separate.
6. Add salt to taste.
7. Garnish with the following order:
-Rice vercimelli
-Gravy
-Bean Sprout and Chicken shreds
-Omellette
-Coriander
-Prawn
8. During serving, squeeze lime over the Laksa Sarawak for extra zing

Various preparation steps for Laksa Sarawak

Tips:
1. Add some of the shrimp paste side dip if you need more umph when you are cooking your gravy
2. Try torch ginger to elevate your laksa gravy further. It's not the traditional ingredient, but it's lovely nevertheless
3. I understand that lots of other non-Sarawakian likes to put additional garnishing into their Laksa Sarawak, but we Sarawakian knows that this is a sin! :D

Umai Udang

2011-08-04T10:00:00.001+08:00

Prawn Umai

Umai Udang

This is another version of the famous Fish Umai, which is the Prawn Umai. The ingredient shall still be the same, except that I have noted that I need to use more lime juice compare to the Fish Umai in order for it to be cooked thoroughly and safe for consumption. As usual, use the freshest seafood that you can find.

For this Prawn Umai, I used the most basic ingredient for umai.

Ingredient:
250gm prawn (de-shelled and de-veined)
1 cup of lime juice
1 Onion (sliced finely)
1 Shallot (pounded)
3cm Ginger (sliced finely)
1/2 Red Chillies(sliced finely)
1 Bird Eye's chillies or to suit(sliced finely)
Salt and sugar to taste

Method:
1. Clean the prawn thoroughly. Towel dry.
2. Pour the lime juice over the prawn and mixed thoroughly. Keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Check whether the prawn is cooked. Add more lime juice and return back to refrigerator if necessary.
4. Add the rest of the ingredient and season to taste. Put back in refrigerator for at least half an hour for the flavour of the seasoning and ginger to be infused in the umai.
5. Serve cold.

Dayak Black Pepper Stew

2011-08-02T10:00:00.001+08:00

If this Dayak dish is to be called French dish, this should be equivalent to French coq au vin, or boeuf bourguignon. Dayak cooking is always simple, easy and quick, and yet this stew might be one that is always better cooked by a Dayak men, as they can be pretty fussy about how potent this dish can be, and willing to wait for the slow stewing process.

This style of cooking is applied to many types of meats especially exotic animals such as bats, squirrel, wild boar, kerumboi (a type of fresh water snail), pangolin, pigeon, you name it, and the not-so-exotic animal like black dog meat. This is especially so if the meat is tough, as the reducing of the gravy from the stewing will produce a firm and yet soft enough pieces to be eaten.

As the Dayak in general is the main producer of black pepper in Malaysia, fresh black and white peppercorn is always available at their home. Black peppercorn is use liberally in this stew. The usage of shallot, garlic and ginger are also exaggerated, but the overall combination of these ingredient produces a well balance of sweetness, saltiness, sourish and spiciness in one bite.

Ingredient :
1/2 kg meat (here I used matured chicken, no luck with the exotic animals!)
5 cloves of garlic
5 shallots
5cm garlic
3 tbsp of black peppercorn
1~2 bird eye's chillies
1cm cube shrimp paste
Salt to taste
Cooking oil for saute
2 ltr water

Optional:
1.Any sourish veges such as pre-cooked terung dayak (terung asam), pucuk daun kedondong (ambra) or pucuk daun mengkudu (all slice thinly)
2. 1 piece asam keping for added sourish if preferred
3. 1 piece turmeric leaves for additional fragrance
4. A dash of whiskey

Method:
1. Pound garlic, shallots and ginger together using pestle & mortar, or food processor. Blender is a no-no.
2. Pound black pepper coarsely.
3. Mix bird eye's chilli and shrimp paste together
4. Saute garlic, shallots and ginger mixture until fragrant. Then add in the shrimp paste mixture
5. Stir fry meat. Lower gas, then cover wok with lid for about 15minutes.
6. Add water and mix thoroughly. Turn the gas to medium low. Cover, and let it cook until the meat soften, or the water reduced to 1/3.
7. Stir-in the black peppercorn and sour veges.
8. Add salt to taste. Add a dash of whiskey if preferred. Cook for another 10minutes, and it's done.

Great to be taken during a drinking session with great buddies!

Hunter's Food Website New Facelift & Domain Name

2011-07-31T09:46:00.003+08:00

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back to Hunter's Food Website! Yes, it is us, with a new facelift!

As you may have noticed, Hunter's Food have not just having a fresh new outlook, I also have move the domain from Blogger Blogspot to it's very own domain. That is a big milestone for this site since we started at the end of 2008. There might be some minor tweaking at this site for a month or so, but it should not interrupt any of the pages in this site.

At the same time, I have dropped the Hunter's Food From The Hut tagline, and will instead use Sarawak Ethnics Cuisine as the new tagline, because that is what this site is about!

Hopefully you love this new changes, and will come back again very soon because I have line up a couple of Bidayuh's traditional delicacies that is not very known and look harmless and innocent, and yet very potent!

See you!

Pekasam Pucuk Daun Ubi

2011-07-26T16:20:00.004+08:00

Preserved Tapioca (Cassava) Leaves

During Japanese occupation in the Land of Sarawak, crops were destroyed and food was so scarce that the only food available at times was tapioca (or cassava). This type of vegetation was very easy to plant, and its very resilient in nature. The young shoot can be cooked or used in many ways such as in pounded tapioca leaves, in pansuh cooking, or preserved. For preserved tapioca leaves, this technique of food preservation has been used by the Dayak for generations, and can be applied for other type of vegetables preservation such as daun sabih/ensabi, bok choy etc. Not all Dayak have the penchant for eating preserved food this way and this tradition is slowly become a dying art. Thus it is hereby very important that this technique be documented so that the younger generation of Dayak will still have this knowledge to pass on.

Ingredient:
1. 1 bunch of Young tapioca leaves
2. 1 cup of meat (pork or wild boar)
3. 1 table spoon of rice
4. Coarse salt
5. 2 litre water

Optional:
1. 1 piece of turmeric leaves (thinly sliced)~ for added aroma

Method:
1. Season meat liberally with salt. Marinate for 1 hour.
2. Cook rice in the water in a big pot.

2. Thinly slice tapioca leaves into 5cm in length.

3. When the rice is cooked, add in the meat.
4. When the meat is cooked, lower down the gas or switch it off.
5. Add in the tapioca leaves. Stir it in the hot water evenly until it change in color. Taste it, add more salt if necessary. Add in turmeric leaves last.
6. When the mixture has cooled down completely, drain the water, leaving the tapioca to be slightly wet, and transfer to an airtight container.

And it's ready to be consumed after a week.

Ikan Salai Masak Terung Asam

2011-07-24T23:55:00.007+08:00

Smoked Fish in Sour Eggplant

This is one the simplest yet a heart-warming soup dish among the Dayaks. The aroma of the smoked fish is so homey and inviting, combine with the sourish soup produced by the sour eggplant. As the older generation of Dayak did not enjoyed the privilage of having a refrigerator, this dish can be whipped up any time as the ingredient are easily available throughout the day.

Terung Asam/Terung Dayak, which is very unique and only available in Sarawak

Ikan Salai (Smoked Fish)

Ingredient:
1. Smoked Fish
2. Sour Eggplant (cut into 6. Seeded if preferred)
3. 2 stalk of Lemongrass
4. 1 litre Water
5. Salt for seasoning

Optional Ingredient:
1. Chicken Stock
2. 1 no. Assam Keping
3. 2 bird eye's chillies

Method:
1. Bring sour eggplant to boil in water. You may use chicken stock instead of water.
2. Once the sour eggplant slightly undercooked, add in the smoked fish and the lemongrass.
3. Add the assam keping and bird eye's chillies.
4. Once the sour eggplant's skin peel off, season the soup with salt to taste.
5. It's ready. Best served hot.

Intellectual Property's Right

2011-07-17T15:25:00.005+08:00

As I have reiterated in this blog many times before, I have to the best of my ability tried to use my own photos that accompanying all the recipes, except where I need some detail explanation with photos from other sources (with permission or link back). I understand how much effort is taken into coming up with a photo, and I respect other people’s intellectual property very much.

I do admit that I am not the most meticulous blogger around, so some of my images I did not put any watermark, especially when it wasn't that great I thought that nobody would even bother to steal it. However, very recently I have found by accident that a Sarawak NGO website which was maintained by a good friend of mine, had use one of the image which was originally from my Ayam Pansuh recipe in their website. I don't ever remember anybody contacted me about it. As I said earlier, I thought nobody will be bother to steal it.

However, the moment when I saw that very familiar image of mine, suddenly I remembered the very day we took that photo. Me and hubby had driven all the way to Kuala Klawang, the border between Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, all the way from Seri Kembangan just to get the bamboo. We braved the thick vegetation to get the best bamboo we could find, had war with leeches and mosquitos, and poured our energy and sweat to saw the bamboo with a blunt saw. We bought the ingredient with our own money. Later on, I prepared the marinate all by myself and religiously stood nearby the stove to ensure that I didn’t burn the pansuh bamboo. All the hard work to just test the recipe and take a photo, of which nobody seen what transpired behind it.

I am not that fussy when it come to using my property here, but what I am asking is only an acknowledgement, or permission to use them. Simple as that. I am waiting for the administrator of the website to contact me as I gently mentioned about it in my Facebook status, hopefully they’ll get my hint. They should have known better.

In fact, this story does not end here. I was curious whether anyone else is doing the same thing. I googled ‘pansuh’ image, and there it was, almost all over the place! I have left messages to the owner of the sites to either remove or acknowledge my image. I also have re-post the picture from the recipe, including the watermark this time. I will slowly do this for other images that I have left out.

I have learnt a good lesson from this, and will not do the same mistake again. I hope everybody else will also learn, and start to respect other’s intellectual property’s right.

Borneo Hornbill Festival 2011

2011-07-17T01:24:00.005+08:00

For more detail on this event, please visit Warisan Sarawak website. If you miss home cooked food and could not get any, come over during the event as you'll be able to get all the delicious main Sarawak ethnic foods, cooked by our very own Sarawakian!

Sambal Ikan Keli (Catfish)

2011-07-13T15:07:00.019+08:00

Shrimp Sambal with Catfish

This is the Bidayuh version of Sambal Ikan Keli or known as catfish. Besides the catfish soup, when we don't have the pot to cook it in while we were at the farm, we will use daun buan as a wrapper, and grilled it on an open fire. The aroma of burnt daun buan is wonderful and to me, it can evoked powerful memory of my childhood. Daun buan is easily available in tropical country like Malaysia, and act as an alternative to banana leaves.

This is how to prepare the catfish for grilling.
1)Clean-up the catfish. If you wish, you can wash it with tamarind pulp or lime juice to get rid of the smell. Season lightly with a bit of salt.
2) Clean the daun buan. Wipe it dry. Gently, take away the back-bone of the leaves. See photo below.

3) You will need minimum 2 pcs of leaves. Run it over the stove to soften the leaves. This will make it easier to be bend when wrapping the fish, and prevent tearing up of the leaves.

The leaves after heated on the stove, the color turned slightly yellowish.

4) Arrange the catfish on the leaf. Wrap on the longish side, if the leaves are big enough, you can fold and clip it nicely together. Then fold one of the edge towards the bottom, put it upright so the fish slides down to fill up the space. Then fold the other edge. Turn facedown on another new leaf. Repeat step 4.

5) Catfish nicely wrapped in daun buan.
6) Grilled the wrapped catfish on the stove about 10-15minutes on medium low fire.

7) Once it is ready, open the wrap and peel off the burnt leaves. You don't need to wash it off.

8) Prepare sambal belacan which consists of shrimp paste and chillies only. Add a bit of warm water. Fermented durian (tempoyak) is optional. Peel off the meat from the fish and shred it into big chunk. Mix into sambal belacan.

9) You can make it as a dipping for other ulam, or it can be eaten with white rice.

Umai Sarawak (Umai Ikan Tenggiri)

2011-06-13T10:51:00.016+08:00

Umai Ikan Tenggiri

This is one of Sarawak traditional dishes that does need little introduction to. Eventhough it used to become the Melanau's staple food, it had became so famous in Sarawak that one can find this delicacies in a five star hotel in Sarawak. But nothing can beat a homemade umai, pronounced as 'umei'. There are many variations to umai. One can use boneless/boneless sea fish e.g tenggiri, bawal (duwei in Sarawak), prawn (click here), or even salted ikan terubok.

Basic Ingredient:
Fresh meaty/boneless fish
Onion
Red chilli
Shallot (pounded)
Asam Paya/Lime Juice
Ginger
Salt
Sugar

This was prepared by my Melanau sister-in-law (SIL) who hails from Mukah, the origin of this food. . My SIL version below has been added with lots of extra ingredient, but the basic taste remains the same as she plays with added aroma and more texture.

Here's her version of umai above.

Basic Ingredient:
Fresh meaty/boneless fish
Onion
Red chilli
Shallot (pounded)
Asam Paya/Lime Juice
Ginger
Salt
Sugar

Additional Ingredient:
Ground nut
Bunga Kantan

Optional:
MSG

Method:
1. Fillet the fish and cut into smaller slices.
2. Add in sliced onion, red chilli, shallot, ginger, bunga kantan.
3. Add in lime juice.
4. Season to taste with salt and sugar. Mix evenly.
5. Refrigerate for minimum 1-hour.
6. Groundnut can be mixed together before refrigerate, or just before serving.
7. Serve.

Touch wood, but this is one of the Last Meal I would request if I am in a deathrow, beside sambal belacan and a hot piping white rice. It's that good!

Will Be Back

2011-03-11T11:46:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the quiet moment here. I am currently still busy with the latest addition to our family. My daughter has been occupying most of my time, and I hardly have time to cook complete meal, eventhough I am a fulltime housewife at the moment tsk tsk.. Once she's mobile and more independent, I will try to put up those recipe that is pending in my list.
Despite the silence, I am glad that this blog has catched many attention, be it from other bloggers and fellow food lovers. It did catch the attention of someone from BBC UK late last year :) Hope the documentary will go through in the end as I am more than happy to see budding interests in Sarawak Borneo, and their diet in particular...

See you soon..

Tuak Nasi

2010-08-24T22:08:00.002+08:00

Rice Wine

I believe among all the recipes that I posted here, this is the most awaited ethnic recipe. As the recipe and the method of doing rice wine is considered as part of a tradition and tightly guarded secret, I have to apologize in advance that eventhough the ingredients and method posted here are correct, I am not able to inform the amount used as it is what determine a successful and delicious rice wine. I have to do this upon request from the person who gave this info to me. You may find a complete recipe somewhere else and the procedure may look simple, but bear in mind that rice wine making is a very delicate and difficult process, it can take years to master. Not only that, a lot of taboos (pantang) have to be observed in order to produce the perfect rice wine.

Ingredients:
Dry powder compacted yeast (ragi). -Use 2 types. One flat, one round (or just use the flat type)
Rice (here we used glutinous rice)
Coarse Sugar
Water
Ginger (to swab on the container before use)

Optional :
Whisky – to add more power. Man’s rice wine normally will add this. Women’s rice wine is normally sweater.

Method.
1. Pound yeast finely.
2. Soak rice overnight. Cook it as usual. When it is cool, mix with the yeast thoroughly.
3. Keep in an airtight container. Put clean white cloth on top before closing the lid for proper fermentation process.
4. After 2-3 days, check and stir. Close again.
5. After a week or so, cook sugar with water, then pour in the container.
6. After a month, check for the taste. Adjust ingredient if necessary.
7. Strain and keep the wine in a bottle. The remaining fine sediment will go down eventually. Refilter if necessary.

Tips:
1. If it turns sour, add more cooked sugar.
2. If it turns bland, add more yeast.
3. Uncoloured container or a ceramic storage (tempayan seramik) is best.
4. Keep container in a cool, dark place.
5. Store wine preferably in a glass bottle. Plastic bottle can react to the chemical process in a wine.
6. The older the wine, the better it taste.

Taboos:
1. Try not to talk/making too much noise while doing the whole process.
2. Do not telecast to everyone you are making one.
3. Process rice wine when you are emotionally stable.
4. Will add more in the future!

Ulat Mulong Goreng

2010-08-17T21:34:00.008+08:00

Stir fried Sago Worm

Honestly, I don’t really eat sago worm (ulat mulong) although I’ve tried it before. I’m a bit put off by the sago/mud smell and it’s fat. The only thing I enjoyed about this sago worm is digging it out from a rotten sago trunk, and see it wriggle in my hand.

However, sago worm is very nutritious food (fatty and lots of carbo). If you ever come across it during your visit in Sarawak, do not miss the chance to try it, at least once in your life. It won’t kill you, I promise. At least you have something to brag about to your friends one day. It can be eaten raw (alive), grill (like satay), or cooked stir-fried.

Here’s the recipe for simple stir fried sago worm.

Ingredients:
Sago worm (alive)
Cooking oil-just enough to saute
Anchovies
Garlic
Ginger
Onion
Bird’s Eye Chillies
Salt to taste

Optional:
Soy Sauce (Kicap Masin)

Method :
1. Pound anchovies, garlic, ginger and bird eye’s chillies separately (coarse).
2. Saute pounded items above until fragrant.
3. Saute onion next.
4. Stir-fried the sago worm briefly, enough to make it stop squirming by the heat.
5. Add a pinch of salt. Add soy sauce if you want.
6. Serve.

Kedondong Goreng Belacan

2010-06-12T10:11:00.005+08:00

Grated Hog Plum Belachan Fried

Kendondong, or Hog Plum (Scientific name : Spondias dulcis) can easily be found at every part of Malaysia. We used to have a giant hog plum tree at the back of the house. The fruits was available all year round, and can be eaten unripe on ripe, made into rojak or added to cooking.

Interestingly, I have eaten this particular hog plum belachan fried only once in my life, when I was about 10 years old. I was visiting a friend when her father was cooking this and invited me to join them for lunch. It was so aromatic, delicious with its own unique flavor that the memory stuck on my mind all my life. The craving for this dish was intensified when I was in the midst of my pregnancy, and somehow after 20 years later, I finally able to taste it again and I savored it with vengeance.

This dish is quite simple, but the only troublesome part is to grate it. But I'll assure you that this is one food that definitely worth all the trouble.

Ingredient:
Hog Plum (3 big size produce 1 small bowl)
Belachan
Bird eye chillies
A pinch of salt to taste
A pinch of sugar to taste
Dried prawn/anchovies
A bit of cooking oil
1 tsp water (optional)

Method:
1. Peel, clean and grate the hog plum.
2. Pound the prawn/anchovies coarsely.
3. Mix belachan, chillies.
4. Heat cooking oil in wok.
5. Once hot, fried the dried prawn/anchovies briefly followed by grated hog plum with medium fire.
6. Add in the belachan mix.
7. Add salt and sugar to taste.
8. Add water if too dry.
9. Serve.

Slamat Gawai Dayak 2010

2010-05-28T21:28:00.005+08:00

Ooohhaa!!

Slamat Gawai Dayak to all of Hunter's Food readers!

I am now in Kuching to celebrate Gawai Dayak 2010, and I have documented quite a few very rare ethic delicacies that I have taken for the past one month. There is one that I had craved for 20 years, and finally I got it just last week! Being pregnant does have it's own advantage, everyone try to be helpful by fulfilling your every wish (or food whims) :p

So pls do check this site out very soon yeah..

The Hunter Having a Rest

2010-03-11T16:10:00.006+08:00

My dear readers,

I would like to apologize for the long absence of post on recipes on this blog. As you all realize, I prefer to cook and use photos from my own sources as much as I can, and that would means I have tried cooking and tasting the food myself. However, due to my pregnancy, I am yet to be able to spend time looking for unique ingredient, cook and eat them myself because of my aversion to strong tasty food at the moment.

Do accept my apology, don't forget this site and pls come back to check once in a while :D

P/s : Thanks Fatimah for writing me email and giving a good suggestion, all the way from the States, and for your friend Alex in NZ for the recommendation through Facebook group. Receiving it making all my effort in keeping up with the blog worthwhile :D

Pucuk Ubi Masak Tempoyak

2009-12-05T01:06:00.011+08:00

Tapioca leaves with Pork and Fermented Durian

Here is a Bidayuh style of cooking tapioca leaves with tempoyak. Very delicious and special.

Ingredients:
1. Tapioca young shoot
2. Pork meat or dry-fried pork fat (lanyih in Iban language)
3. Fermented durian
4. Lemongrass
5. Turmeric's leaf and pinky-finger size turmeric's root
6. Shallot and onion
7. Salt and MSG
8. Water
9. A bit of cooking oil for saute

Method
1. Squeeze tapioca shoot roughly.
2. Saute shallot and garlic until fragrant.
3. Add tapioca shoot. Stir briefly.
4. Add pork meat or dried pork bit. Preferably cook the pork meat first before tapioca leaf if use raw meat.
5. Add water.
6. When water bubling, add fermented durian, lemongrass and turmeric leaf and root.
7. Add salt and MSG to taste.
8. Serve while hot.

Pucuk Daun Labu

2009-10-26T07:21:00.003+08:00

Pumpkin Leaves (Shoot)

One of the most common food among the farmers, this vegetable is slightly bitter, and yet taste like heaven. Here my mother cooked it with baby corn.

How to prepare :
Separate the stem/leaves from the main stalk. Peel the skin off the main stalk, and you can use part of the soft stalk up to about 600mm from the tip. You may need to squeeze the leaves roughly to let go the fine and sharp substance (in Malay language it's called miang). Wash it under running water.

Ingredient :
Young pumpkin leaves, shoot and stalk
Baby corn
Shallot, Garlic, Anchovies
Cooking base
Salt
A bit of water

Method :
1. Saute shallot, garlic and anchovies.
2. Fry the baby corn.
3. Then put in the leaves.
4. Add the cooking base.
5. Add water.
6. Add salt to taste.
7. Serve hot.

Terung Hijau Goreng Belacan

2009-10-22T19:02:00.009+08:00

Belachan-Fried Green Brinjal

During our stay at my aunt's place on Eid Day, she had given me full plastic bag of green brinjal. I have no idea how to cook it initially, as normally my mother only boil in until it's soften and eaten as ulam.

Using imagination, I tried using the same method as Terung Masak Belachan here. The results, my mom reallly love it! Eventhough cooked the same way, the taste, texture and aroma was totally different.

I did not take any photo cos we just couldn't wait :D. If you wish to know the recipe, pls see Terung dan Goreng Belacan recipe. This green eggplant however will take slightly longer frying time. You only need to ensure that it's really cooked and soft without overfrying. Instead of topping, you can mixed later on when you are frying sambal belachan.

Best eaten with lots and lots of piping hot rice!!

Anak Jagung Manis

2009-10-01T15:11:00.004+08:00

Sweet Baby Corn

Unlike in Peninsular where baby corn is normally being used a garnish in their dishes, for us we use baby corn as the central ingredient in our vegetable dish.

Sweet baby corn can be cooked in many styles. One of the most authentic Hunter's style is Sweet Baby Corn Belachan Stir-Fried. The recipe is like most of the Belachan Fried Vege's.

Garlic and Shallot
Anchovies
Sambal Belachan
Small cup of water
Salt

Method is simple too. Saute garlic, shallot and anchovies, add in baby corn and stir fried. After slightly soften, add-in sambal belachan and stir again until mixed evenly. Add a bit of water and salt to taste. And it's done.

For the photo above, I only used garlic, shallot, anchovies/small meat or chicken pieaces as a garnish. Fried the anchovies or meat, put aside. Saute garlic and shallot. Add in back the anchovies/meat, and add in julienne carrot if you like. Stir fried, add salt to taste. Add a bit of water if you like. Serve.

Mangga Masak Belacan

2009-09-14T14:00:00.005+08:00

Belachan Fried Mango

Another simply delicious cooking, and such an unforgettable meal! Don't be deceived by the looks, it's so difficult to stop eating eat once you started.

Ingredient :
Mango - Partially ripe
Garlic
Sambal Belacan
Salt
MSG (Optional)
Cooking Oil
Water

Method :
1. Clean, peel and grate/cut the mango into tiny pieces.

2. Heat cooking oil in a wok. Saute garlic.
3. Once fragrance, add in the mango.
4. Mix in sambal belachan evenly. Add in water as necessary.
5. Add salt and MSG to taste.

And it's done. It's best eaten by mixing it with white rice. Don't forget to use your hand instead of fork and spoon ok!

Pekasam Ikan

2009-09-10T14:19:00.006+08:00

English : Fermented Fish
Bidayuh : Kauk Ikien

This food is one of the most ancient food, and yet still can be found in many Bidayuh households in Borneo Sarawak nowadays. Pekasam Ikan, which went through a fermentation process using life bacteria, can last for a long time and can be eaten throughout the year. The freshwater fishes used were normally caught during monsoon season, and preserved in bulk for storage.

Ingredient :
Freshwater fishes (above using Ikan Lampan Jawa)
Salt
Pounded Rice
Yeast (sold in white thin round shape, can be found in most dry market within Sarawak)

Method :
1. Clean the fishes.
2. Add enough salt. Reduce excess water.
3. Pound the yeast finely. Coat the fishes with the rice yeast powder one by one, and preferably keep in a glass jar. Close the lid tightly.
4. The fermented fish is ready for consumption within 1 month onwards.

Sup Tikam (Ikan Lampan Jawa)

2009-08-17T10:57:00.006+08:00

As mentioned and stressed in previous posts, Bidayuh cooking are pretty simple cooking with ingredient that is easily available. One of the simple, quick but delicious meal is Sup Tikam (which literally means a soup where you can throw anything you want inside).

One of the variety of Sup Tikam my mother used to cook was Sup Ikan Lampan Jawa. The ingredients are as following:

Ikan Lampan Jawa (or any other freshwater fish)
Young Ginger (Halia Muda)
Turmeric Leave (Daun Kunyit) or Daun Pegaga Wangi
Terung Assam Kuning (Terung Dayak)
Lemongrass (Serai)
Sambal Belacan
Salt
Fermented Durian (Tempoyak)
Water

Optional:
Saute garlic and shallot
MSG
Chicken stock cube

In fact, with the exception of salt, the other ingredients are pretty optional, you can put all or the combination of some, depended on what you have available and taste that you want to achieve.

How To Prepare:
Boil terung dayak in a pot of water. When it almost soften, put garlic, lemongrass, turmeric. After that add in the sambal belacan, tempoyak, MSG or chicken stock cube and salt to taste. When everything cooked and the fragrance start to come out, put in the fish slowly. Turn off fire when the fish is cooked. Serve it hot.

Note : Please beware of the fine bones of the fish above.

Sagu (Sago) Linut or Ambuyat

2009-08-10T11:12:00.012+08:00

Photo taken from www.geocities.com/sazhong

Sago used to be the staple food for the Melanau, but now being consumed by other races also. One form of sago is in sago linut, or ambuyat as how the Melanau call it.

I am not sure exactly how the Melanau eat the sago linut, but how we eat it in the old days is to eat it either with hot soup, or simply add in additional hot water and sambal belacan.

This is how to prepare for this simple but delicious meal:

Ingredient :

A) Sago Linut
Fresh sago flour
Hot or Boiling water

B) Soup
Lemongrass
Garlic and shallot
Anchovies
Fermented Durian (Tempoyak)
Water
Cooking oil
Young ginger
Salt

Optional :
Chicken stock cube
MSG

C) Sambal Belachan
Pls refer here for recipe

Method:
A)
1. To prepare sago linut, you can either use poured boiling water, or boiling water in a pot.
2. Method 1) Hot Water - 2 person needed. 1 person to pour hot water, 1 person to stir. Add in normal water first to make it watery and doesn't turn into starch too soon. Then add in hot water, and stir continously until all the sago turn clear and gooey.
3. Method 2) Add normal temperature water to sago in a pot (approx. 1 sago-1 1/2 water content). Heat the pot using small-medium heat and stir. Keep stirring until all the sago turn clear and gooey. Add more water if necessary. If too gooey, stir further until desired thickness.
4. Put aside.

B)
1. Heat cooking oil. Saute garlic, shallot and ginger until fragrant.
2. Fry the anchovies.
3. Add water and lemongrass.
4. When the water boiled, add salt, tempoyak, chicken stock cube and/or MSG to taste.

The sago linut is best eaten with a hot soup. Add sambal belachan for added umph!

Pucuk Ubi Goreng Belacan

2009-06-14T12:12:00.007+08:00

Stir Fried Tapioca (Cassava Leaf) with Belachan

Photo from www.tintarestu.com

This is another simple natives cooking, and yet very delicious. I had some left over tapioca leaves after the Pansoh cooking, so I put it in the fridge and fried it the next day for lunch.

Ingredient
1. Tapioca Leaves
(young ones, from the shoot to another 2-3 lower level leaves)
Tapioca leaves to be squeezed and twisted roughly.
2. Cooking base (shallot optional)
3. Salt to taste
5. 1/4 cup of water
6. Enough cooking oil to saute

Method
1. Fry anchovies until slightly crispy. Put aside.
2. Saute garlic until fragrant. Put the anchovies back.
3. Fry and stir evenly the tapioca leaves.
4. Add-in some water.
5. Keep stirring until cooked.

Best eatan during lunch with simple plain rice, accompanied by fried salted fish!

Resepi Pansoh (Pansuh)

2009-06-12T13:42:00.012+08:00

Manok (Ayam/Chicken) Pansuh

Here is the basic recipe for Pansoh (Pansuh).

Ingredient (Marinate) :
1. Meat (Chicken, catfish, pork)
2. Garlic (pounded rough)
3. Shallot (pounded fine)
4. Ginger (pounded)
5. Turmeric Leaves (cut abt 5-10mm width)
6. Lemongrass (pounded)
7. Salt
8. Cassava/Tapioca Leaves
9. Young bamboo

Optional Ingredient:
1. Turmeric stump
2. Tepus/tipuk
3. MSG
4. Fermented durian (tempoyak)
5. Black pepper
6. Bird's eye chillis
7. Young Galangal (sliced)
8. Daun Bungkang (pls see http://sarawakianaii.blogspot.com/2011/07/daun-bungkang.html)

Method :
1. Before using the bamboo, fill it with water for 1/2-1 hour to clean the inside, and encourage the water to seep in.
2. Marinate all Item 1-8 and Optional Ingredient together, leave some of tapioca leaves to cap the bamboo later on.
3. Emptied the water from the bamboo. Fill it with the marinated meat.
4. Don't compact all meat, let it loose lightly.
5. If you want pansuh soup, add in a cup of water.
6. Capped the bamboo with tapioca leaves.
7. Cook over pit fire-charcoal or log-bamboo stand abt 60-80 degree.
8. Pansuh is cooked if the water start to gurgle at the cap.
9. In case the pansuh is dry type, take note of color changes on the tapioca leaves to determine if it is cooked.
10. To serve, just transfer the meat into a plate.

Pork pansuh (pansoh)

Best taken with hot plain rice! Enjoy!

Tips : Add-on certain tapioca leaves to the marinate can produce bitter taste. Select tapioca leaves that will not have this effect.

Cara Membuat Tempoyak

2009-05-08T14:07:00.011+08:00

How To Make Tempoyak (Fermented Durian)

Everybody have a love-hate story with this king of fruit. Some are crazy about it, some just hate the sight and smell of it, some only loves to take the fermented durian. Anyhow, tempoyak is one-of-a-kind that cannot be compared to anything else in this world. It's almost indescribable.

Photo courtesy of http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography

Photo courtesy of
http://www.nurulrahman.com/

The internal flesh of a durian..

Fermented durian is used as an additional flavor in Malaysian cooking such as Pucuk Ubi Masak Tempoyak, soup base, bread jam or it can be eaten on its own whether fried or raw.

Raw Tempoyak

To make tempoyak is pretty simple. Separate the seed from the flesh, mix well the durian flesh with salt. The quantity ratio is about 1 cup of durian flesh to 1 table spoon of salt. You may need to to trial-and-error on the ratio. Only beware that lack of salt will cause your tempoyak to become sour. Put too much, and of course your tempoyak will become too salty.

Keep the mixture in an airtight container, and it is ready for consumption minimum 2 days thereafter. Tempoyak well preversed can last for years, especially if it is kept in refrigerator.

Please browse our website for more cooking which use tempoyak as an ingredient.

Note : Some people put a bit of sugar to add sweetness. From my personal experience, if the salt-tempoyak ratio is right, it is not necessary to add additional sugar, especially if you are using fresh durian flesh. You may want to add-in sugar to your cooking if your fermented tempoyak is using not-so fresh durian though.

Ambal Nenas Sarawak

2009-05-01T23:17:00.005+08:00

Sarawak Pineapple with Sambal Belachan

This is Bidayuh style fresh salad. This kind of pineapple preparation might need an acquired taste, but this food can become an addiction.

Preparation are pretty simple;

Ingredient:
1. 1 Sarawak Pineapple - yet to ripen
2. Sambal Belacan
3. A pinch of salt
4. A splash of black soy sauce if you like

Method:
1. Sarawak pineapple can be replace with other pineapple if it is unavailable. It's the most recommended because the sweetness and sourness is quite balance.
2. Peel of the pineapple. Cut into small pieces (sizes up to personal preference).
3. Prepare sambal belachan. You can find the recipe here.
4. Mix all ingredient above evenly.
5. Mix a bit of water only if the pineapple could not produce the juice naturally.

This can be eaten by itself or with rice during lunch or dinner. This ambal is preferably eaten at one seating.

Ayam Pansuh (Manok Pansoh)

2009-04-16T23:34:00.008+08:00

This is one of the most famous Sarawak special and exotic delicacy. It originated from the Iban tribes, but now being consumed by many.

Raw ayam pansuh.

I will put up the recipe for this ayam pansuh (pansoh) someday.

For the uninitiated, this ayam pansuh will be cooked in a bamboo over a fire, capped with tapioca leaves. Some other variation are ayam pansuh added with tempoyak (fermented durian), or daun pegaga, or you can use pork meat or other fishes like catfish (my favorite ;) ). The one above has been added with tipu/tepus, and it gave such an oomph to the already delicious chicken.

Sago Cooking

2009-03-29T12:48:00.008+08:00

Sago or sagu palm, which falls under Metroxylon species, can be found scattered among Sabah and Sarawak swamp. Sago palm can be processed to produce sago flour, which used to be Melanau ethnic staple food. Sago flour is commercially used as food starch and biscuit (tebaloi).Worms (ulat mulong) that infested sago dead trunk is their main source of protein.

Sago flour is normally eaten in the form of Sagu linut, a glue-like sago flour added with hot water. However, one of my favourite past time is my mother's fried sago flour.

The sago flour in the picture above is the last of the two packets that I ordered from my Sabahan sister-in-law. I found that Sabah sago flour is fresher and sweet smelling compare to the one we bought in Bau/Kuching town, which is factory-made. I finished the first pack by doing few trial-and-error of my my mom's style, but I had to give up and called my mom before I waste it all :D

I am keeping this last packet until the day I couldn't ignore my craving. Saving the best for last!

Tipu/Tepus Masak Belachan

2009-03-04T09:38:00.004+08:00

Fried Tipu/Tepus with Belachan

Tipu (pronounce as tipuk) or tepus gives a very unique identity to Sarawak indigenous food. The shoot of tipu gave out a very aromatic fragrance. However for one who are not trained, it smells like a pungent insect. This tipu reminds me of Bunga Kantan, eventhough the smells is not really similar.

Other review by a fellow blogger regarding this very unique edible shoot can be found in Headsteadi's blog. He has made reference to tipu with scientific name as Coctus Speciosus, but I thought the closer one would be Achasma Coccineum.

Tipu can be found in most market in Sarawak. In the picture above, tipu in a white middle sack in Bau Market.

Edible tipu shoot.

There are many ways to cook this shoot. Normally it is used to enhance the flavor of cooking e.g soups, fried vegetables or Ground Tapioca leave.

Below is the recipe for a Tipu Masak Belacan (Fried Tipu with Belachan)

Ingredient:
1. Tipu shoot.
2. Cooking base
3. Cooking oil for saute
4. 2 cups of water

Method:
1. Pound garlic roughly. Slice the shallot finely.
2. Mix salt, belacan and 2 spoon of water together.
3. Pound the shoot roughly and cut it into 50mm length.
4. Saute garlic, shallot and anchovies until fragrant.
5. Stir fried the tipu shoot.
6. Add belacan mixture.
7. Add the water.
8. Cook for about 10min until soften.

Ayam Masak Kacang Ma

2009-02-12T21:49:00.007+08:00

Chicken Kacang Ma (Ka Ciam Ma)

Prepared By : Sumuk
Photo By : Sumuk

This is not exactly a local exotic food, but it is believed to be of Hakka origin and very unique to Sarawak identity.

Kacang ma is a type of herb and normally consumed during confinement. Kacang ma is very aromatic, bitter and need an acquired taste. I used to hate it when I was little, as I couldn't appreciate the taste of alcohol and its bitterness. However, being absent from home for a long time means I start to miss my mom's cooking that I used to take for granted. Also, lately my cooking and 'tasting' skill has improved tremendously and I am able to modify some cooking based on my own preference.

Ingredient:
1. Chicken
2. Half packet (50mg) of Kacang ma (can be found at supermarket in Sarawak)
3. Young ginger
4. Garlic and shallot if you like
5. Salt
6. White wine (I prefer rice wine/tuak as it has sweet taste)
7. Cooking oil for frying
8. Water

Method:
1. Dry fry the kacang ma on moderate fire for 1/2 min or when it slightly yellowish.
2. Grind/pound the fried kacang ma finely.
3. Pound garlic, shallot and ginger together.
4. Saute the ginger mixture until fragrant on full fire.
5. Add chicken. Stir for a minute than add kacang ma.
6. Add water. Amount depending whether you want it slightly soupy or dry.
7. Add salt and a dash of white wine.
8. Reduce fire. Cover for two minutes. Open cover and stir once in a while.
9. Reduce fire to smallest and dash a liberal amount of white wine or as required.
10. Stir evenly.

And it's done. It's great eaten hot or cold on it's own or with rice, and I can assure you my version above is not bitter at all!

Ambal Timun Tua

2009-02-06T16:43:00.005+08:00

Old Cucumber Ambal

Prepared By : Mdm Lekai S.
Photo By : Sumuk

The Chinese called this mature cucumber as Lao Wang Kwa and it is very nutriscious vegetable. Normally it is used to made soup as an old cucumber produce slightly sourish taste.

We Bidayuh in Sarawak normally made this into Ambal. Ambal is actually a type of sambal where you mixed your 'ulam' together with Sambal Belacan.

Ingredient:
Sambal Belachan
1 no. old yellow cucumber
a pinch of salt
half cup of water

Method:
1. Cut open the cucumber. Scrap out and disposed off the seed using a spoon.
2. Scrap the inner of the cucumber white flesh into 3-5mm length.
3. Mixed with your sambal belachan
4. Add salt and water and mixed well.

This food is really great to be eaten on its own or with hot rice during lunch! Make sure it's really spicy :D

Sup Ayam Tempoyak

2009-02-03T12:32:00.003+08:00

Chicken Soup in Fermented Durian

Prepared By : Sumuk
Photo By : Sumuk

This is one of the most common dish cooked in a Bidayuh home. It's a very simple recipe and take very little time and care.

Main Ingredient:
Chicken meat
Salt
Fermented Durian
Lemongrass
Water

Optional Ingredient:
Garlic and shallot for sauteeing
Bird's eye chillies
MSG

Method:

You can skip this process by immediately bring the chicken to boil..

When the chicken meat is cooked, add in lemongrass, salt, chillies, (MSG) and finally the fermented durian.

Normally the chicken soup is eaten with rice, but I added a twist by making it as the base for my Beehoon (rice vercimelli) soup! You should try it!

Sambal Asam Kelubi/Asam Paya

2009-01-21T11:43:00.007+08:00

English : Swamp Fruit
Bidayuh Jagoi : Buah trisum
Iban : Buah Ridan
Scientific Name : Eleiodoxa conferta (Wikipedia Link)

Ripe asam kelubi will have sourish yet subtle sweetness. This asam kelubi also have sweet smelling fragrance.

We use it to make variety to our Sambal Belacan. Peel the soft juicy pulp from the kernel using knife and add it into Sambal Belachan. It will really add character to your simple hot lunch!

Ketupat Periuk Kera

2009-01-16T10:58:00.001+08:00

Pitcher Plant Ketupat

Prepared By : Madam Jehet N.
Photo By : Sumuk

Picture courtesy of Geraldine

Periuk Kera, or Pitcher plant (Nepenthes species). In Bidayuh, it is called 'trambuak'. The one shown here is Nepenthes ampullaria and you can find more information regarding Pitcher Plant, and other types of pitcher plants which can be found scattered among Borneo-Sarawak region here .

On the day of my trip back to Kuala Lumpur, my mother made this special treat for me among the Chang that she prepared. It was a 'limited edition' and one of my childhood treat, so I treasured it a lot and did not have the heart to eat it till the last minute.

Glutinous rice is used to make the ketupat. It is soaked in water overnight. After the water is drained, salt is added to taste. Filling is normally not necessary as other accompanying dishes can be cooked separately.

The pitcher plant is cleaned and then filled up with rice 3/4 full. Clipped at the mouth with a wooden toothpick. Cooked in a pot of water for about an hour or until the rice is soft and cooked.

To eat it, just peel off the pitcher plant skin. It's a very unique experience I can tell ya!

Umbut Nenas

2009-01-06T18:29:00.000+08:00

Pineapple's Shoot

Prepared By: Lekai S.
Photo By : Sumuk

As me and my sister were walking around in Bau Wet Market, we were delighted to see this rare delicacy. I am sure not many people knows that pineapple's shoot can be made into a delicious treat. The reason why it is not popular is due to the fact that to make 1 plastic bag of this shoot, you have to sacrifice about 10-15 nos of pineapple's 'tree', and it can be very time consuming. As it was so cheap, it did not take me too long to decide to buy 3 plastic bag of these, which cost RM1 (USD0.30) each.

Pineapple shoot is normally fried with belachan. Here's the recipe;

Ingredient:
1 1/2 plastic bag of pineapple shoot
cooking base
half cup of water
cooking oil for sauteing

Method:
1. Wash the shoot.
2. Heat up cooking oil in wok.
3. Fry anchovies. Saute garlic and shallot until fragrance.
4. Stir fry the shoot.
5. After 1 minute, put the rest of the cooking base.
6. Add water. Stir another 1 minute.

And that's it. Below is my sister version of cooking with additional button mushroom.

Nyam nyam!! :D

The Hut's Owner Going Away

2008-12-21T11:02:00.001+08:00

Announcement:

I will be away for holiday from 24 Dec 2008-3rd January 2009.

My hut will not produce any smoke during this period.
I will be taking lots of photos for authentic Bidayuh cooking specially cooked by my own mother (if I'm lucky) and I will be hunting for more exotic and unique ingredients and cooking idea back home while I am away.

Pls bear with me and try some of the existing recipes here if you happen to miss home.

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year 2009 to Everyone!

Tara taraaa taraaa OOOOOOO!!!

Tempoyak Goreng

2008-12-15T23:53:00.001+08:00

Fried Fermented Durian
Bidayuh : Tipuyak Goreng

Prepared By: Sumuk
Photo By : Sumuk

The reason why I hardly cooked this delicacy is because it can be an addiction, and I would not be able to stop eating it with lots of rice once I started LOL!!!

When you're feeling lazy but you still want to create variety on the dinner table, just whip out this dish which is sooo simple to prepare!

Ingredients:
1. 3 tbs Fermented Durian
2. 1 tbs Anchovies
3. 1 tbs Sugar
4. 3 tbs cooking oil

Method:
1. Heat cooking oil in a wok.
2. Fried anchovies until crispy.
3. Put the fermented durian. Keep stirring until slightly golden and transparent.
4. Mixed with sugar. Stir for another 1 minute.

And it's ready!

It is very nice to be eaten with hot white rice and some soup.

Tips:
When you remove the 'tempoyak' from the wok, keep the excess cooking oil with it. It will help the 'tempoyak' to stay moisten.

Terung Kuning Masak Belacan

2008-12-15T12:05:00.002+08:00

Fried Yellow (Sour) Eggplant with Belachan
Bidayuh : Tiyung Dayak Samal Biing

Prepared By: Sumuk
Photo By : Sumuk

This is one of my childhood favorite :D

Ingredients:
2 nos Yellow (Sour) Eggplant
Cooking base
2 tbs cooking oil
1 ltr water for boiling
1/2 cup water for cooking
salt to taste
tamarind juice, if preferred

Method:
1. Cut and de-seed the yellow eggplant.

2. Boiled water together with the eggplant.

3. Pound chillies and belachan together while waiting for the eggplant to cook.

4. The eggplant is cooked when the skin can be peeled off easily.

5. Drain the water and peel the skin on the rest of the eggplants.

6. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok.
7. Fry the anchovies until crispy. Set aside.
8. Saute garlic and shallot until fragrant. Mixed together with achovies.
9. Add the eggplant to the wok.
10. Add the pounded chillies and belachan.
11. Add 1/2 cup water and salt to taste. Mixed well.

And it's ready!! :D

-------------------------------oooo-----------------------------------

Alternatively, you can grill the eggplant on open fire. Don't worry about the burn mark cos the skin is thick enough to preserve the internal flesh while cooking it.

Wash away the burned skin on running tap water. After that, cut into tiny pieces and continue cooking it as usual. Do not wash after cutting it to keep the sourish taste.

Sambal Belacan

2008-12-14T12:47:00.002+08:00

Bidayuh Sambal Belachan differs a lot from the Malays version of Sambal Belachan. The most basic of Bidayuh Sambal Belachan consists of anchovies, belachan and bird's eyes chillies only.

All ingredients above (except onion and shallots) shall be pounded roughly together.

The sambal belachan is very nice to be eaten with fresh vegetables such as cucumber, salads and other 'ulam-ulaman'..

Tips :
To make a good sambal belachan, anchovies shall be pounded first, followed by chillies and belachan consecutively. To avoid overwhelming of belachan, start with a small quantity first.

Cooking Base

2008-12-14T00:01:00.001+08:00

Most of Bidayuh original daily cooking are quite simplistic in nature. The basic ingredients consists of belachan, anchovies, chillies, garlic, shallot and salt.

As Bidayuh diet largely involves vegetables, they will cooked vegetable either stir fried, slightly wet or in soup, using the cooking base above. Sometimes other natural additional flavours such as lemongrass or fermented durian will be added too.

Tips:
Here's my cooking tips based on my own trial and error;
1. Fry the anchovies until crispy first before sauting the garlic can enhance the taste of anchovies on the food.
2. Afterwards when sauteing the garlic, make sure garlic become golden before adding in the shallot.
3. When pounding the chillies and belachan together, it is best to pound the chillies first before adding in the belachan.

Sup Ikan Dengan Terung Kuning

2008-12-11T23:33:00.000+08:00

Fish Soup with Yellow (Sour) Eggplant
Bidayuh: Sup Ikien duoh Tiyung Dayak

Food Prepared By : Aunt Mary G.
Photo Taken By : Sumuk

Ingredient:
500 gm fresh fish
2 pcs of garlic - pound
2 stalks of lemongrass - pound
1-2 nos of yellow (sour) eggplant - cut and de-seed
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs cooking oil
bird's eye chillies (cili padi) - qty to personal taste
500ml water

Optional:
1 tbs fermented durian (tempoyak) or MSG
2 pcs dried assam (asam keping)

Method :
1. Saute garlic in oil on a cooking pot until fragrant.
2. Add water to pot.
3. Add the yellow eggplant and cover the pot loosely. Boil until the eggplant soften and the skin almost detached by itself.
4. Add in dried assam if preferred.
5. Add in the fish, lemongrass and chillies. Salt to taste.
6. Add fermented durian or MSG for additional flavor.

And it's done!

Terung Kuning (Yellow Eggplant)

2008-12-10T17:19:00.001+08:00

Common Name : African eggplant, terong asam, terong iban, aubergine gboma, anthora, antrua, Scarlet eggplant, Terong rapoh, Terong engkol, Terong kelapa, Aubergine d'Afrique, Sennari nasu, Berenjena, Melanzana petonciano, Afrikaanse aubergine, Antroewa
Scientific Name : Solanum macrocarpon
(Source : Tropilab Inc)

This is one of the most distinct Sarawakian vegetable. It is famously referred to as 'Tiyung Dayak'. It falls under the Solanaceae (eggplant) family. This eggplant however is different from the more recoqnised Indian Yellow Eggplant. It is sourish in taste, and take longer to cook than the normal eggplant.

This eggplant is good to be added in a soup as it added a very distinct sourish taste. It can be mixed with fish soup, chicken soup or even pork or boar soup.

However, the eggplant also can become the central dish and cook with belachan. It can be either grilled or blanched in boiling water until soft. The aroma and taste produced by yellow eggplant might need an acquired taste, but it is definitely will worth a try.

Terung Dan Belacan Goreng Part 2

2008-12-08T22:05:00.000+08:00

Fried Eggplant and Sambal Belachan Part 2

Food Prepared By : Aunt Mary G.
Photo Taken By : Sumuk

The photo above is the Eggplant (Brinjal or Aubergine) Fried with Sambal Belachan in tamarind juice. For food full recipe and preparation, please refer to Terung dan Belacan Goreng Part 1

Terung Dan Belacan Goreng

2008-11-30T11:59:00.000+08:00

Fried Eggplant and Sambal Belachan

Food Prepared By : Sumuk
Photo Taken By : Sumuk

This delicacy is suitable to be eaten at lunch with piping hot white rice. It is also very suitable to become finger food during bbq party. It's very simple and so easy to prepare!

Ingredients:

Eggplant or Brinjal (quantity as required)
1 onion, slice thinly

Sambal Belacan Mixture
5-7 nos. of Cili Padi
1 scoop of Anchovies
Belachan - size of a thumb

Tamarind Juice - if preferred
1/2 teaspoon tamarind - (asam jawa)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon water

Cooking oil.

Method:
1. Eggplant to be cut about 0.5-1.0 cm thick. Deep fried until golden. Extra care to avoid charring.
2. While frying the eggplant, pound anchovies coarsely, followed by chillies and belachan.
3. When the eggplant is done, arrange it in a plate.
4. Take out the excess cooking oil, and saute the sliced onion until fragrant.
5. Then fry the mixed sambal belachan together.
6. At this point, when the belachan fragrance start to come out, you can opt to put the tamarind juice. Stir again until dry.
7. Scoop and make it as a topping for the eggplant.

Happy Trying!

eggplant = aubergine = brinjal

Sambal Udang Kering

2008-09-27T18:57:00.001+08:00

(Dried Prawn Sambal )

Food Prepared By : Mdm Layut J.
Photo Taken By : Babai

This delicious sambal paste was prepared by Babai's grandma (my future grandma-in-law :D). It was my first time trying it, and it tasted like heaven!!!

I've digged the recipe from Aunty Mary (Babai's mom), and this is roughly what I could remembered..

Ingredient :
1. 500gm Dried Prawns
2. 15 red chillies (cleaned)
3. 1 large Onion
4. Thumb-size belachan
5. Half cup of water
6. 1 teaspoon fine Salt
7. 5 tablespoon cooking oil

Method:
1. Dried prawns to be soaked in warm water.
2. After rinsing, grind the dried prawns together with red chillies, onion, belachan, salt and water.
3. Heat oil in the wok and fry the mixture until fragrant and sambal drier (to personal preference).
4. Great to be eaten with white rice and accompanied by 'petai'.

Pucuk Ubi Halus Goreng Belacan

2008-09-24T22:54:00.002+08:00

English :(Belachan-Fried Tapioca Leaves)
Bidayuh : Tokik Diak (or Tahi Kura-Kura)
Iban : Empasa/Jabang Guring

Food prepared by: Mdm Mary G.
Photo taken by : Babai

Bahan-bahan:
1. 2 ikat pucuk ubi
2. 2 batang serai
3. 2 biji bawang putih diketuk
4. Belacan sebesar ibu jari
5. 1 sudu teh garam halus
6. 2 sudu besar air
7. 1 sudu besar ikan bilis kering
8. 3 sudu besar minyak masak untuk menggoreng secukupnya

Penyediaan :
1. Pucuk ubi ditumbuk halus menggunakan anak lesung.
2. Serai diketuk/dihiris halus.
3. Belacan dicampur bersama garam dan air.

Cara memasak :
1. Panaskan minyak masak. Tumis bawang putih sehingga wangi.
2. Masukkan ikan bilis.
3. Masukkan pucuk ubi yang telah ditumbuk. Goreng selama 10-15min, atau sehingga keluar wangi. Hendaklah dikacau selalu supaya tidak hangus.
4. Tutup selama 1-2 min.
5. Masukkan serai. Kacau seketika.
6. Masukkan campuran belacan. Tambah sedikit garam jika perlu.
7. Kacau sehingga pucuk ubi yang digoreng menjadi kering sedikit.
8. Angkat dan sedia untuk dihidangkan.

Cadangan tambahan :
1. Amat sedap dimakan dengan nasi.
2. Serai boleh digantikan dengan umbut tipuk/tepus untuk menambahkan kewangian (lihat foto di atas)
3. Boleh disimpan di dalam peti sejuk dan dipanaskan setiap kali sebelum hidangan.

Selamat mencuba!!

Warm Welcome from Head Hunters Hut

2008-09-23T14:18:00.000+08:00

Hello Readers!

Welcome to Hunters Hut.

This blog is my personal effort in documenting the exotic food in the land of Sarawak, Borneo for public knowledge and for future reference.

Please note that some of the food might be offensive to others. However, in understanding others cultural background, beliefs and lifesytle, it is in good faith that this blog is in no way provoking any person in particular.

If you have any suggestion for Sarawak food to be featured here, kindly email me at sumukeyes@gmail[dot]com. Please state the origin of the food, the recipes, photos, and your name and contact details. Each contributor for the recipes and photos will be credited in this blog for their effort.

Hope you will enjoy it here.

Thank you and please come back in the future.