Sibu Tales : the Kompia Revolution

 Most westerners would know bagels as a good carbo ridden food which make people feel good and very full. Most western bakeries sell bagels.

The Foochows have their famous bagel like bread called Kompia which is very tasty and it is always made in the early morning for the breakfast crowd.

Wan Hin in Sibu was the first bakery I knew as a kompia producer. They had an charcoal oven which was like an upside down tandoor. In fact if you looked closely it was a big vase with charcoal at the bottom. The round bread was stuck to the wall of the vase and baked. sometimes a fan was used to control the fire.

Kompia will usually be made with or without sesame seeds/

My photo shows kompia with sesame seeds. The bread is sliced so that a delicious minced pork filling can be used ...it is a lovely Foochow sandwich. To die for. And it must be eaten hot.

Today kompia can be found all over the world where Foochows are found, especially if the Foochow bakers can get the traditional recipe from fujian or Sibu....In Malaysia kompia has even been made by Muslim bakers!!