Most may know Sarawak as a city with fascinating rainforest and the famous Rainforest World Music Festival.
Today, I would like to introduce you to the food in Sarawak that can be as fascinating as the beautiful adventurous rainforests. Gourmets being served in Sarawak come from 4 different cultures such as Chinese, Indian, Malay, and local & Dayak tribes. This cultural diversity of food brings food lovers into a whole new world.
Today, I would like to share the food I learned to love where in Sarawak!
Sarawak being tropical in nature, many types of exotic fruits can be seen all over the place. Within these tropical fruits, I would like to start off my introduction with one of the most common fruits in Sarawak, “Banana”. Most of you guys might think “Bananas? I can just grab them from the Super Market anytime I want!” Well, the bananas I am going to introduce to you guys are different from the typical yellow bananas you buy at the store. In Malaysia, Bananas being easily available and growing all season, it is considered to be a fruit that can be bought at a very cheap price with high demand.
There are more than 10 types of bananas growing in Malaysia, all having distinctive features. For example, one could be small and round like the “Pisang Montel”, while others having a long skinny feature.
With the high demand and availability of Bananas, there are many dishes being served with Bananas as the main ingredient. Here’s my favorite dish that I recommend to you guys…
Pisang Goreng (Banana Fritters) with cheese
Here’s how I encountered this delicious dish:
It was another hot day in Malaysia, and me and the other interns decided to explore Sarawak. We decided to go to a populated area at first, so we took a taxi and ended up near one of the biggest food courts we been to. It was lunchtime and I decided to try something new since I wanted the day to be adventurous. I walked around the food court looking for something new but couldn’t find anything that excite my desire since the place was mostly aimed for tourists. After a few trips around the food court, there was a street stall on the other side of the street.
That’s where I found the Banana Cheese Fritters.
Crossing the street with curiosity, I noticed that the stall was taken over by Bananas. After a while, a guy came up to me asking to buy fried Bananas w/cheese. At this time, I thought to myself “Fried Bananas with cheese on top? I thought fruits were supposed to be refreshing”. But looking at the RM3 sign and the amount of fried bananas in a single plate, I couldn’t refuse the offer.
I paid for the Banana Fritters and waited for it at the table we found near the stall.
A moment later, the cashier came with a plate with a fascinating smell that provoked my stomach with hunger. It was like that smell of freshly baked bread in the morning.
The cheese topping melting from the heat of the fried bananas covered by the choice of my favorite flavor unleashed the hunger out of me. (Flavor varying from original, chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, etc.) After taking a picture, I took my first bite into the dish. I loved it. It was one of the best sweet snacks that I’ve tried in my life. The outside crisp mixed with the sweetness of the banana and the sugar is such a great mixture.
The time I remembered to take a photo of myself eating it, the plate was cleaned up leaving nothing but the caramel saucing that had fallen from the bananas.
If you ever plan on visiting Sarawak, this is a must try snack that will fulfill your taste buds.
サラワク州は、手つかずの熱帯雨林や神秘的な動植物が生息している事で知られています。夏には、Rainforest World Music Festivalなども開催されています。本日みなさんに紹介するのは、サラワク州のもう一つの魅力である「食」です。マレーシアには、数多くの食文化が存在し、一国にいながら刺激的な経験をする事ができます。
サラワク州は常夏で熱帯地域のため、果物が育ちやすく一年を通して、日本では見る事のない果実も安く、いつでも食べる事ができます。この中でも僕が一番気に入ったのがバナナです！バナナといっても、日本のコンビニやスーパーなどで手に入るものだけでなく、日本ではあまり見かけないような色や大きさのものもあります！マレーシアでは、フルーツとしてバナナを食べるだけではなく、バナナを使った料理もたくさんあります。
今から紹介する一品は、マレーシア人が愛するトッピングのチーズが決め手のピサンゴレン・チーズです！
ピサンとはマレー語で「バナナ」の事を意味し、「ゴレン」は揚げるという意味です。ピサンゴレンは場所によって列ができるお店もあり、おやつとして大人気な一品です！バナナに衣をつけて揚げているのですが、使われているバナナも通常のバナナではありません。通常のバナナを揚げようとすると柔らかくなりすぎてしまうのですが、ピサンゴレンには固めのバナナを使います。
揚げたてのピサンゴレンのカリカリ感とホクホクしたバナナの食感が、やみつきになります！揚げたてのピサンゴレンの上にチーズをトッピングし、その上にまたキャラメル、チョコレート、オリジナルソースなどの甘いソースをかけたら、また違った味を楽しむ事もできます。
ピサンゴレン・チーズは場所により異なりますが、およそ５−６RM（150-180円）ほどで購入できます。バナナ料理の中でも人気のものなのでマレーシアにお越しの際は是非お試しください！
Written by: Kenta Kojima