Sunday is a great day to do shopping at Bintulu's 'tamu'. At the 'tamu' ( local jungle produce market) one can get very exotic about things. Try eating 'sago worms', tiny fresh water turtles, frogs, rare jungle herbs and ferns, shoots of rattan climbers, bananas of all sizes and varieties, mangrove crabs, wild pigeons, ripe and unripe wild fruits...the list is endless depending on the seasons, geographical location and accessibility to the rural countryside.Thus on every Sunday the sellers' repertoire is forever wondrously changing. This Sunday was no exception.
You need to skin off the frogs before consuming them in styles of your liking. Grilled, curry or deep fry.
The thick skin of rattan shoots are peeled off exposing a soft core that are best served roasted or sliced into smaller pieces as cooked vegetables in curry, boiled or salad. Most popular rattan species harvested for its shoots are what the local Ibans here call 'Upa Lalis' ( Plectocomiopsis geminiflora)
These huge bananas ( Musa sapientum L.,)called 'Pisang Tanduk' literally meaning ' Banana Horn' in Malay, are not eaten raw but are normally sliced and done as banana fritters(Note:In front of the jungle produce seller are yams.)
Banana fritters from 'pisang tanduk' are my favourites for afternoon tea.
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1 comment:
You know, it is very interesting to see this different kind of sea food.
When I was a child, it was common to catch frogs and prepare the frog legs. They tasted very good.
Although as kids were completely traumatized be seeing the catching and killing of the frogs; it is much better to have it served in a restaurant.
The bananas look incredible, they remind me of plantains, that I have been eating when on vacation in Puerto Rico.;)
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