Sarawakian Local Delights : Maram Palm Hearts

One of the most useful palms in Sarawak is the Maram palm. From the maram we get the meram fruit which is sour and very useful for making umai. 

The maram palms also give food foragers palm hearts which  are tender and sweet tasting. The preparation of the palm hearts however can be messy and difficult because a lot of strength is needed to cut off the outer layers of the palm before one can reach the hearts.

These are four shoots from maram palms. The shoots have to boiled first to get rid of its bitterness. The Ibans love the bitter taste in their food. These four shoots cost 3 ringgit from the native tamu




The palm hearts can be sliced thinly and stir fried with onions, garlic and a bit of chilli with belacan.