Page 207 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE GUIDE TO SARAWAK 205
Fresh, succulent and crispy midin ferns, shown here stir-fried with Chinese wine.
mango, jambu, kedondong, buah salak and the savoury ‘jungle olive’ – dabai.
The best-known native dish, popular among the Iban, Bidayuh and Penan, is manok pansoh - chicken steamed with wild herbs and rice wine in tubes
of bamboo over an open fire. Fragrant and tender, the chicken can also be substituted with fish or
Manok pansoh (bamboo chicken) cooking over an open fire. When the bamboo tubes are completely blackened the dish is done. The longer tubes to the right contain traditional red rice cooked in identical fashion.
wild boar. Umai, Sarawak’s version of ceviche, was invented by Melanau fishermen wanting to eat their catch at sea without setting fire to their boats. This spicy treat comprises thin slivers of raw fish or prawn marinated with lime
juice, chillies, shredded onions and shallots. The Melanau also have a passion for the bizarre
si’et (sago worm), a large, cream-coloured beetle larva; eaten raw, roasted or fried, it has a nutty, buttery flavour.
Umai, the signature dish of the Melanau people, is a
ceviche-like raw fish or prawn salad served with lime Sago worms or si’et. These cream-coloured edible beetle juice, chillies and shallots. larvae are popular served raw, roasted or fried.