Ambuyat is a dish derived from the interior trunk of the

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

palm. It is a starchy, bland substance similar to

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but which has ...

. Ambuyat is the

national dish A national dish is a culinary Dish (food), dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs ...

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

, and it is also popular in the Malaysian states of

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

as well as the federal territory of

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best kno ...

, where it is sometimes known as ''linut''.

Background

Ambuyat is the traditional food of the

Bruneian Malay The Brunei Malay, also called Bruneian Malay (; Jawi: ), is the most widely spoken language in Brunei Darussalam and a lingua franca in some parts of Sarawak and Sabah, such as Labuan, Limbang, Lawas, Sipitang, and Papar.Clynes, A. (2014). ...

Bisaya Bisaya may refer to: * Bisaya people, a.k.a. Visayans, a Philippine ethnolinguistic group * Bisaya (Borneo), an ethnic group in Borneo * Bisayan languages, or Visayan languages, a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines ** ...

Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

Kadazan-Dusun Kadazandusun (also written as Kadazan-Dusun or Mamasok) are the largest ethnic group in Sabah, Malaysia, an amalgamation of the closely related indigenous peoples, indigenous Kadazan people, Kadazan and Dusun people, Dusun peoples. "Kadazandus ...

, and Lundayeh/Lun Bawang people in both the

Interior Division The Interior Division () is an administrative division of the state of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies the southwest portion of Sabah, bordered by the neighbouring state of Sarawak on its west. With an area of 18,298 square kilometres, it covers 24 ...

and

West Coast Division West Coast Division () is an administrative Divisions of Malaysia, division of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory. It also has approximate ...

of Sabah and the Limbang Division of Sarawak, as well as the Malaysian federal territory of

and the sultanate of

, where it is considered the

. Ambuyat is eaten with a linked pair of bamboo

chopsticks Chopsticks are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the han ...

called ''chandas'', by rolling the starch around the prongs and then dipping it into a

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

, of which there are many varieties, including

shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a Fermentation, fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, Southeast Asian and Coastal Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed Shrimp and prawn as food, shrimp or krill mixed ...

(''sambal belacan''), ''sambal

tempoyak Tempoyak (Jawi script, Jawi: ), asam durian or pekasam is a Malay cuisine, Malay condiment made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented durian. It is usually consumed by the ethnic Malays in Maritime Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia ...

'' (chilli and fermented

durian The durian () is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognized species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species ...

paste), ''sambal cincalok'' (chilli and fermented shrimp paste), and ''sambal binjai'' (a type of wild mango). In the past, it was a dietary staple for the indigenous people of the region. In parts of

Eastern Indonesia Eastern Indonesia (or East Indonesia) is one of the two main geographical regions of Indonesia, the other being Western Indonesia. It comprises four geographical units: Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi, Maluku Islands and Papua. Central Indone ...

, there is a similar dish called papeda, which is usually served with

stir-fried water spinach Stir-fried water spinach is a common Asian vegetable dish, known by various names in Asian languages. Water spinach (''Ipomoea aquatica'') is stir-fried with a variety of vegetables, spices, and sometimes meats. It is commonly found throughout ...

(''kangkung''),

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

flower buds, and a

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

-tinged fish curry called ''kuah ikan kuning'', flavoured with green chillies,

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

, and

bay leaves The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay leaf ...

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Bruneian cuisine Malaysian cuisine Staple foods National dishes

Background

See also

References