Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eggplant
(
terung
in Iban and Bahasa;
brinjal
in Malaysian English) Bornean eggplants,
which are the size of a peach, are often planted together with the hill rice and harvested
before the rice stalks mature.
Fish
(
ikan
in Bahasa Malaysia) Small fish grow in paddy fields, larger fish are caught in
streams and rivers and in the sea.
Ginger flower
(
bungai kechala
or
tepus
;
busak luduh
in Kelabit) Grows wild along river
banks, has a lemony flavour and tastes a bit like artichoke heart; often chopped into very
fine slivers, boiled and then fast-sautéed with onions.
Hot chilli
(
cili
) Hot peppers used by all the various tribes.
Lemon grass
(
sorai
in Bidayuh) The Bornean variety, which grows in the jungle, is more
herbal and less sharp than the Thai variety.
Midin ferns
These wild fiddlehead ferns (so called because their curled-up tips resemble
the scroll of a violin or cello) were once eaten mainly by the rural poor, who collected the
young fronds in forest clearings. Recently, though, they have been rediscovered by food-
ies and are hugely popular among Dayak, Malay and Chinese cooks. Tasty and nutritious,
they're often lightly stir-fried to preserve their crunch.
Midin
ferns grow wild in dryer
areas of the forest and in peat, and are now produced commercially on a small scale.
Paku ferns
A type of fiddlehead fern that grows wild in moist parts of the forest
Pumpkin
(
bua' tecak
in Kelabit) - bright orange on the outside and, when cooked, soft
and creamy inside. Can be stir-fried, steamed or puréed to make cream of pumpkin soup.
Salt
In upland Borneo, mineral-rich saline spring water is boiled in huge vats to produce
high-iodine salt; it's sold in markets in leaf-wrapped 'sausages.
Tempoyak
Preserved durian; the Bidayuh recipe (there are also Malay versions) calls for
mixing deseeded durian pulp with coarse sugar, leaving it to ferment for a day or two, and
then draining off the juices.
Tumeric leaves
(
umiet
in Bidayuh) Used to wrap fish for steaming so that the flavour in-
fuses the fish, or to seal the bamboo tube used to make bamboo chicken; contains minute
quantities of cyanide, which the Dayaks remove by shredding the leaves and washing
them before pounding them into a pulp
Venison
(
payo
in Kelabit) Deer are still hunted in the forest in places like the Kelabit
Highlands; after the animal is killed, the meat is immediately smoked (to preserve it) and
