Snake Meat and other Jungle Fare

A housewife (Iban or Chinese) living at the fringes of a Sarawak jungle or in the middle of the jungle should be prepared to cook any meat brought back by the husband. A cousin of mine said that she is happy that her husband has a gun license as a Chinese and she often gets monitor lizards and snakes...The couple is always happy to invite people over to eat these exotic meats. They have a chicken and duck farm so these reptiles come around often but they have become rarer as more and more people are planting oil palm in the area.

photo from benardcometh.blogspot.com/2009_1...ive.html.


(This incident happened on 5th April - a Monday)


However I do stay away from snakes especially the live ones. A good friend "ran into a snake in Sg. Rait in Miri". He got out of his car and found a piece of wood  to clobber the  dazed snake (ripon or short python) to death. then he brought it to our house (which is about ten minutes from the murder scene) last weekend. It took two grown men three hours to get the snake cleaned and cooked in the Sarawak  style. I suppose strange incidents like this can only happen in parts of Sarawak.

First the snake had to be  slowly burned over a good  open fire. This is the Iban style of dressing a snake. When the crispy and charred scales were peeled off the whole snake was dipped into a basin of clean water. And then the stomach area was taken out carefully. By this stage  the skin below the scales smelled really  fragrant.

The meat was then chopped into bite sizes.  As the snake was at least six kilos the men decided to cook their share of the meat into two ways : deep fried and then braised and a soup with Chinese herbs. The other portion was to go to a Chinese towkay who believes in the health benefits of snake meat. He could not clean the snake and that was why the snake was brought to our house.

Uncle Jeff smothering Bario rice with engkabang - Sarawak Iban butter or ellipinut.

Jungle paku or fern tops. Nice and crunchy and very gingerly with a bit of Foochow wine.

Braised deep fried snake meat. Better than chicken. Yours truly do not and will not eat snake meat.

Lovely piece of snake meat with the crunchy tendonly snake skin still attached.

Kundor (or winter melon ) with minced pork and ginger and hot chili padi.

Herbal snake meat soup excellent for men's health according to many. The Chinese herbs are available in Ing Kong Drug Store.