Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
turn to pretty much the same uniquely Bornean selection of leaves, flowers, fruits, roots,
vines, ferns, fish and meats that the rainforest shares with all who know its edible secrets.
Each Dayak tribe has its own ideas about the best way to combine, season and prepare
the natural bounty of the forest. Some dishes are tangy, others bitter or surprisingly spicy,
and yet others characterised by peaty, jungly flavours unknown in other Asian culinary
traditions. Many dishes are cooked or served in leaves (eg
daun isip,
used by the Kelabits)
that add delicate flavours in addition to serving as ecofriendly packaging and plates.
Because some ingredients, such as ferns, are so perishable, they have to be eaten within
a day of being picked and exporting them - even to Peninsular Malaysia - is virtually im-
possible. As a result, the only way to experience the mouth-watering, eye-opening and
tongue-tickling world of Dayak cuisine is to come to Borneo.
But even on the island, sampling Dayak cuisine - naturally organic and MSG-free - is
rarely as easy as walking up to a hawker centre. There are a handful of restaurants in cities
such as Kuching and Miri - of special note is the Dyak (
Click here
)
, a pioneering gour-
met establishment in Kuching - but otherwise the only way to savour indigenous dishes is
to dine at a longhouse or be invited to dinner by a Dayak family.
Rice
A dozen or more varieties of Borneo-grown rice can be found in the markets, often in
clear plastic sacks that let you see the colour, size and shape of the grains. Dayak groups
traditionally grow rice using swidden (slash-and-burn) techniques.
Hill paddy, grown by upland villagers mainly for their own use, is generally unpolished
and unprocessed. Red rice is generically known as
beras merah
(in Iban and Bahasa
Malaysia), but other varieties of Bornean rice are white, light brown, dark brown and even
reddish orange. Bario rice (from the cool Kelabit Highlands), Borneo's most prestigious
rice variety, is famous for its small grains and delicate taste and aroma.
Glutinous rice (
pulut
in Iban and Bidayuh) is sometimes combined with coconut milk
(santan),
vegetable oil and a bit of salt and cooked in a length of bamboo lined with a ba-
nana leaf to produce
lemang
.
WHERE TO SAMPLE BORNEO'S CUISINE
The best way to become familiar with the incredible variety of ingredients used by Bornean cooks is to visit a
market (
tamu
or
pasar
- the latter term shares Persian origins with the English word 'bazaar') or, in Kalimantan's
Banjarmasin, to head to the floating market. Some markets feature fresh, organic jungle products collected and
