Page 205 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE FLAVOURS OF SARAWAK - FOREWORD 203
My esteemed colleague from Kuching City South has written a splendid introduction to Sarawak’s cuisine, so to avoid repetition I would like to add a little about our wonderful fresh ingredients.
Even in our own backyard - Kuching City North’s rural hinterland - we have three notable Malay fishing villages, Kampungs Baka, Buntal and Muara Tebas, that provide the city’s population with artisan-caught fresh fish and seafood. The same villages’ craftspeople also produce the belacan (shrimp paste) and dried fish products that season many of our flavoursome dishes. Their rural neighbours produce other artisan produce, such as gula apong (rich nipah palm sugar), delicious rice cakes and desserts, and even cooking implements made from the sturdy wood of the nibong palm.
Further afield the story is the same - only the ingredients are different. Every town and village has its own selection of choice tropical fruits, unusual vegetables, exotic spices and delicious home-made preserves and condiments. Our coastal fishing villages produce a huge variety of freshly-caught fish and seafood; our mighty rivers yield giant prawns and highly- prized empurau and semah fish, and full-flavoured ayam kampung (free range chickens) can be found in every village and longhouse. Better still, we have the herbs and spices to flavour them with, including dozens of species of ginger and the finest quality pepper in the world.
The best thing of all, though, is that we don’t keep these wonderful ingredients to ourselves. All of the items described here - and many, many more - can be found at the Medan Niaga Satok in Kuching, famous for its fresh jungle produce, and at the tamu or traditional markets located throughout the state. If you are visiting Sarawak, don’t miss the opportunity to shop for superb fresh produce, or at the very least visit some of our colourful markets and enjoy a sumptuous feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
Y Bhg Datuk Haji Abang Abdul Wahap Bin Haji Abang Julai
Mayor of Kuching City North