October 16, 2011

Organic Food for Lunch

Actually there are a lot of natural and wild vegetables we can get freely from the jungle around us in Sarawak.

If we are able to learn from our indigneous neigbhours and other ethnic friends we can actually learn to go and gather our own food like our ancestors in ancient China or even today in modern China many of the minority groups are still gathering their wild vegetables on the mountain side or river plains.

Wild fruits and even local fruits can give us some easy to cook vegetables too.

this is as good example of a fruit which young can become a good vegetable. and that is the tarap. Tarap is either wild or grown.

This is young tarap fruit already cut up for you to take come (at one basket per ringgit). Stir fry with some oil and ikan bilis  and a teaspoon of belacan and chillies. Add the young fruits and stir fry until soft. Add water and boil for about 20 minutes. Add salt. Serve.


the kepayang tree is another fruit that can provide food for us humans - its fruit is a nutty tasting vegetable and when processed is very delicious. Its leaves are very delicious as a vegetable. And it is used by the Ibans for several purposes besides cooking. I will write about the fruit in another post soon.


This is a ringgit worth of kapayang. Take them home and boil them. After that slice them into thin shreds and cook  with some pork slices or salted pork. Very tasty and fruity.

The other use of the leaves is too add them to preserving of pork .

All these organic or wild vegetables are available in the tamu in Taman Tunku in Miri. It is a pity that the unlicensed traders who collect these wild vegetables are not allowed to sell at Tamu Muhibbah which should be renamed Town or City Market.

These two could easily make up a very organic lunch. Besides it also easy to make a tomato and cucumber salad Thai style. Wonderful and healthy!!












6 comments:

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Now that you have told everybody, the Iban aunties will scold that person when they go and harvest the veg and found that some unscrupulous person had dug up the plant. lol

When we moved to Embang Rd, before the neighboring houses were built, but the trees fell, we used to pick a veg that cannot be bought.

Anonymous said...

where is Journey's End? I am scratching my head

Bengbeng said...

over here we take all this organic stuff for granted. elsewhere it costs at least 20% more

Anonymous said...

Ann,
I think some aunties may just love hearing people like us talking about their wild vegetables? I know some who even get very delighted when we ask simple questions. They are really lovely people.

cy

Anonymous said...

Anonymous...
Journey's End = Jalan Ling Wen Choon the road which leads to Methodist Children's Home.

Sarawakiana

Anonymous said...

Bengbeng
That's tru...many of the packed organic food stuff cost very much more because they have a foreign label. Local products which are really organic seem to be looked down upon.

Sarawakiana

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