Sarawakian Local Delights : Slow BBQ Belly Pork

BBQ belly pork from E Mart area, Miri.

Today, Rumah Asap or Smoke Houses have grown all over Sarawak. These outlets sell all sorts of meat cooked over an open fire. And often in the smouldering coals, one can get overcooked and smoked meat, which some people like. Ikan Keli, Ikan Sultan, and all available fish in the markets can be bbq over these open fire.

The customers order and pay for their food by the kilos. Selections are made from the meat already on the charcoals.

Vegetable dishes are prepared by other stalls.

At the time of writing, bbq belly pork is being sold at 36 ringgit per kg, Usually large pieces of the belly pork are bbq on the racks, and the meat would be weighed according to the order, and then sliced in this way.

In an interesting way, this kind of open fire bbq renders the belly pork very tasty and without the greasiness one would imagine.

The seasoning of the meat is probably a trade secret and the dipping sauce of soy, sugar, limes, and chillies vary from stall to stall. But the tastiness of the dipping sauce is usually uniquely Sarawakian.

A few men can easily consume 2 kg of belly pork and down a dozen tins of cold beer while sitting down for a good chat over the weekend.