UMAI SARAWAK

 

 

  

Umai is a raw fish salad popular among various ethnic groups of Sarawak, especially the Melanaus. In fact, umai is a traditional working lunch for the Melanau fishermen. Umai is prepared raw from freshly caught fish, iced but not frozen. Main species used include Mackerel, Bawal Hitam and Umpirang. It is made mainly of thin slivers of raw fish, thinly sliced onions, chilli, salt and the juice of sour fruits like lime or assam. It is usually accompanied by a bowl of toasted sago pearls instead of rice. Its simplicity makes it a cinch for fishermen to prepare it aboard their boats. Umai Jeb, a raw fish salad without other additional spices, is famous among Bintulu Melanaus. However, it is rarely prepared in Kuching. You can try umai when you eat 'Nasi Campur' during lunch hours in Kuching. Most coffee shops, especially Malay or Bumiputera-owned one, served umai daily for 'Nasi Campur'.

SARAWAK ETHNIC'S FOOD (MANOK PANSOH)

Manok Pansoh

Manok Pansoh, where the word ‘manok’ is chicken and ‘pansoh’ is bamboo in Dayak Languages, is the traditional food of the Iban tribe, the natives of Sarawak,Borneo. The food itself has becoming popular not just amongs the Iban people, but also to the Sarawakians. Usually, during many special occasions, especially during the festival times, they normally serves this kind of food. The food (meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and sometimes even rice together with the spices) will all be put together into the bamboo stem, then directly placed over an open fire to be cooked. The uniqueness of using the bamboo stem to cook is that the bamboo will give a special aroma and texture to the food where it’s impossible to have using other methods such as using  the woks.

 

The 'manok' inserted in the bamboo

 

 The pansuh was ready to served ^^