Kuchai or native chives are rather special vegetables in Sarawak. They are actually quite easily grown in the loamy soils near padi fields around the longhouses. It is a vegetable readily available and loved by young and old in the rural areas.
It is a vegetable that can be prepared as a salad with dressings simply made from lime juice and some salt and sugar.
It can be stir fried with wild torch ginger flowers and shoots. It can also be cooked as a soup with just some ginger and fresh eggs.
Some women have learned how to make pickled kuchai bulbs and that would really be lovely to eat with rice or whenever the family has no time to cook any other dishes.
Today, in most tamu in Miri, the vendors would prepare the kuchai like in the photo above. It is so convenient to buy just a plate of the kuchai, already cleaned and cut for the pot. It is a very tedious job to clean every stem of the kuchai. So much water is needed to wash away the sand!!
How thoughtful of the vendors to clean up the kuchai for the busy housewives.
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