Wild Fruits Anyone?

Just the other day while at the Bintulu tamu ( jungle produce market) I stumbled upon a variety of wild fruits on sale. In Sarawak there are not less than 75 species of wild fruits. These fruits can either be seasonal or non -seasonal. Below are a few examples.

The fruit of the well known 'rotan' ( Calamus ornatus), non-seasonal.

The rotan fruits have scales on the outside and the pulp have an extremely sour to bitter taste.

The rotan or rattan is a very versatile product of the rainforest jungle creating a huge rattan furniture export industry for Malaysia.

The seasonal Ong Balem

'Ong Balem' meaning the Balem Fruit ( Mangifera pajang) in Melanau is available mainly in

December every year. They taste generally sweet when ripe. Young balem fruits are eaten too

as salad in which case it is usually eaten with the well known shrimp paste called 'Belacan'.

The seasonal 'Engkala ' fruit which is an all-time favourite of mine.

The 'Engkala' fruit have a soft pulp and is eaten raw together with its soft pink skin, after being

dipped in warm water for a brief five minutes. I however prefer to eat it with a pinch of salt for that additional ' Umph'.

The sourish ' Asam Paya' (Eleodoxa conferta)

The asam paya fruits are eaten raw and have a strong sour to bitter taste. Sometimes they are made into pickles and sold by many street fruit vendors in town.

Tampoi ( Braccaurea bracteata)
The 'tampoi' fruit has a white sweet pulp and is mainly eaten fresh. A local wine is also prepared from this fruit.