Borneo palm fruits-Sarawak's trusum fruit (Salacca Wallichiana C. Martius)

The Bidayuh of Sarawak, a state in Malaysia, in Borneo island, call this fruit 'trusum'.  In West Malaysia where this fruit is also found growing wild in the forest, it is called 'rekam'.  The botanical name for this fruit is Salacca Wallichiana C. Martius.  The synonym for this fruit is  zalacca rumphii.  This fruit is better known in Thailand as luk rakam. In Sarawak, this iguanura (palmae) chaiana is a new species. To many people in Sarawak, this fruit is unknown.  The salak fruit is more well known.

Unlike the salak fruit which is yellowish brown, the trusum fruit is dark ruby red.  It has the same snake skin.  This fruit is sweet and sour.  It is eaten raw.  The creamy white pulp is smooth and  juicy. There are two to three seeds in a fruit.  It is also made into a sambal with the fruit slices mixed with belacan (shrimp paste), pounded dried anchovies and small chili.

This fruit has a short pointed tip like the salak fruit. This is a palm fruit from the palmae family.  According to jungle produce market stallholder, John ak Jul, this fruit are harvested from the jungle at kampung Sungei Pinang in Bau district.  In other places in Malaysia, it is found growing wild in its natural habitat-the swamplands.  These fruits are found at mid-trunk.  A ripe fruit will turn maroon red. This fruit is not seasonal.  It can be harvested every month. 

Borneo fruits-The Sarawak Longan

The Sarawak Longan-This warty yellow longan is a subspecies of the dimocarpus longan and malesianus variant. Yellow longan are called 'kakus' whereas a green longan is called 'isau'.  Another species is oblong in shape.  It is green skinned and is called 'sau'.  

This fruit is more familiarly known as 'mata kuching' in Malay. In translation, it means cat's eye.  The Chinese community call this fruit 'long yan' meaning dragon's eye. It is also known as 'guring' or marbles.  This fruit is cultivated on the central region of Sarawak in Sibu division, Kanowit, Song, Kapit and Belaga districts.  It is a native fruit of Sarawak and is found along the river banks of Rejang river. This fruit is found also in China.

Unlike the Thai longan which is smooth skinned, the Sarawak Longan is warty.  The skin is thick and the flesh is thick, transclucent, very sweet and fragrant.  The seed is hard and enamel like.

The Sarawak Longan is rich in calcium and vitamin c.  It has very high economic potential with a kilo selling for RM8.00, a price higher than imported fruits.

This favorite fruit is available in January each year till early February in time for the Chinese New Year celebration.  This fruit is traditionally used to cast into the river by the romantic young and not so young alike during Chap Goh Meh, the fifteen night of Chinese New Year.  It is the Chinese valentine's day and hopeless romantics cast these longans to make a wish for a beautiful bride with big eyes.  Women, on the other hand, cast mandarin oranges wishing for a husband.

This fruit is eaten by first washing it with water and biting it to break the skin.  The flesh is very juicy.  This fruit is a member of the sapindaceae family of which the rambutan and pulasan are related.

Borneo fruit-Asam Kumbang (Mangifera quadrifida Jack)

Malaysia has more than 25 species of wild mangoes.  This fruit is called asam kumbang.  Kumbang in the Malay language means beetle.  Many local people call certain wild mangoes 'asam'.  The word 'asam' means tamarind.  'Masam' means sour in the Malay language.  This fruit is sweet and sour.

  A ripe fruit is dark green grape purple colour.  Peeling off the skin with a knife will reveal a juicy bright yellow mango fruit.  The fruit is a bit fibrous.  It is consumed raw or made into a sambal, with fruit slices mixed with pounded chili, garlic, dried salted anchovies, salt, sugar and belacan ( shrimp paste cake).  

A unripe fruit is dark green in colour.  Unripe asam kumbang are cooked with fish as a dish.  The scientific name for this fruit is 'Mangifera Quadrifida Jack.  This fruit is a member of the anacardiaceae family. 

 The fruiting season of asam kumbang is during the months of May to June, and November to December every year.

Borneo fruits-The Engkala Fruit of Sarawak.

This is the thumbnail image of my engkala fruit upload in YouTube taken in August 2013. Engkala is a unique indigenous fruit. The fruit is consumed by first removing the cap or cupule and soaking it in warm water.  The flesh is white greenish.  The taste is exquisite. Delicious.  A unripe fruit is green in colour.  It will ripen by turning pinkish over the next two days.  Green engkala are hit with spoons to cause it to ripen.  Unripe engakala tastes like an unripe ciku fruit, causing an irritation to the throat. It is eaten with a pinch of salt.

The scientific name for this fruit is Litsea Garciae.  In the local dialects, we call it engkalak, engkala, pong lobon, kangkala, medang, pengalaban, ta'ang fruit. The engakala fruit is found in great abundance in Nov 2013.  The fruit is bigger in size and has a attractive bright pink appeal.  Farmers have cultivated this fruit for the local market instead of collecting it from the jungle.  Fertilisers are used, attributing to its bigger size and abundant yield.  It was indeed a satisfying year 2013, eating a continuous supply of engkala. This fruit has high economic potential.

Borneo Wild Jungle Mango-Mangifera Pajang Kostermans

Wild jungle mango-mangifera pajang kostermans- a new hybrid clone with the tree from the Borneo forest produces a fruit the size of a canon ball. This one weighs more than 900 g.

The old fruit from the jungle cultivated by villagers in Asajaya.  These fruits are cultivated by seed.

This one weighs more than 300 g.

Cutting the fruit vertically.

Peeling off the thick skin to reveal the bright yellow fibrous sweet sour mango

To the Malays of Sarawak (a state of Malaysia in the island of Borneo), this brown wild fruit the size of a canon ball, is called 'asam embang'.The Ibans of Sarawak call it 'buah mawang'. In Sabah, it is known as 'bambangan'. This fruit is botanically known as mangifera pajang.  It is a wild fruit from the jungle and its availability today is due to their cultivation by the people  in Asajaya.

This fruit smells like the kuini (Mangifera adorato Griff), a popular Malaysian garden fruit.  The difference is the skin is brown and thick.  The fruit has to be cut on top across and vertically before it is peeled off.  The flesh is yellow and tasted sweet if the fruits falls to the ground but taste sour when it has a bit of green hue meaning it is not ripe yet.

Buah Mawang is eaten raw as a salad or eaten as an ulam (eating raw with sambal belacan or shrimp paste sauce). It is also cooked with fish. The flesh is fibrous and is cooked with chillies to give it the pineapple taste. As much as this fruit is the size of a canon ball, there are other varieties the size of a tomato.

Buah Mawang can be kept for a week because of its thick skin. It can be preserved in a jar. Even the leaves of this fruit can be eaten as an 'ulam'. A member of the anacardiaceae family, this seasonal fruit starts fruiting twice a year during the months of Jan-Feb and July to August.

Satay

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Satay-the Malay authentic dish is loved by all.  It is dipped into a peanut gravy sauce and eaten with ketupat.

         

This is our Malaysian satay.  It is either beef or chicken slices skewed on coconut leaf sticks and barbecued over moderate charcoal grill.
 Satay is dipped into a gravy of peanut sauce cooked with dried chilies, lemon grass, garlic, shallots, galangal, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, blended peanuts and a bit of belacan (shrimp paste).
The meat is marinated with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, shallots, galangal, salt and sugar.  Satay is a Malay cuisine.  It is loved by all races in Malaysia.  It is a favorite takeaway for birthdays, Christmas potluck and Hari Rayas (the Malay new year).
                                                                                                                                                                               

Ayam Penyet-Smashed fried chicken-A Pontianak Recipe

A Pontianak Ayam Penyet cuisine