Many of us who have visited West Malaysia think that we have seen Malaysia, but we often forget that if there is West Malaysia, there is also East Malaysia. Getting from West Malaysia to East Malaysia involves taking a plane or a boat to Sabah or Sarawak.
I have been teaching English to girls from Sabah and Sarawak for some years now, and I have been curious about Sabahan cuisine. I finally had the opportunity to try some Sabahan dishes recently while I was in Johor.
My students who prepared the Sabahan dinner also prepared a presentation about Sabah.
The dinner took long to prepare, especially the wild vegetable dish (sayur manis). The highlight of the dinner was the famous hinava dish. I had read about hinava in an essay by one of my students. It is a raw fish dish, similar to ceviche (the South American raw fish dish). The raw fish is mixed with lime juice, bird's eye chili, shallots and ginger. It's a refreshing dish.
Hinava
Another famous Sabahan dish is sinalau bakas (smoked wild boar), but since wild boar is not common in West Malaysia, my students cooked roasted pork belly instead.
They also made a chicken soup with a local rice wine. Every dish was special, even the rice was special. It was purple rice from the highlands of Sabah.
Dessert was hinompuka jagung, a traditional Kadazan-Dusun steamed glutinous rice dessert made with corn.
Hinompuka jagung
After a taste of Sabahan cuisine, my friends and I were inspired to plan a trip to Sabah. The beauty of Sabah is no longer a well-kept secret. Kinabalu Park is a UNESCO World heritage site and an important ecological zone on Earth. It is home to many species of plants, including carnivorous plants, and many species of birds and mammals.
I saw a flesh-eating plant for the first time in Kew Gardens many years ago. Fortunately, flesh-eating plants usually only eat insects. They occasionally eat small mammals and birds.
The main reason for visiting Sabah is, of course, the Sabahan people. My students gave their reasons for why foreigners should visit Sabah. My friends and I were moved by their warm hospitality and their eagerness to share their love for their homeland.
If you appreciate the beauty of nature, have a spirit of adventure and like to travel like an explorer (rather than a tourist), then Sabah is a place to put on your travel destinations list.
Special thanks to Nor for planning the Sabahan dinner and to my students (Angie, Diana, Dita, Eba, Jeassie, Meribel and Yenn) for an enlightening introduction to Sabah.
Have a good weekend and a great week ahead.
By Chayo, HomSkil Editor 1, 24 August 2024
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