June 30, 2017

Sarawakian Local Delights : Kapayang

The Kapayang is a fruit tree found in the jungles of Sarawak, although today many have been purposely planted.

It is actually quite famous as a poisonous fruit if not properly processed.
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The seeds are first cut and cleaned and then soaked in running river water for at least three days. They will turn creamy or white in colour , with an outer layer of brown. This will get rid of the hydrogen cyanide which can be easily washed off.

Besides, the Ibans often salt the seeds and then us them to flavour meat, especially wild boar.
Freshly processed kepayang slices can be added as a stir fry with salted mustard greens. It is one of the most Iban culinary delights in Sarawak.
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The trees can grow very tall, often over 40 m.



http://banuahujungtanah.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/27793_1235355973916_1529725636_30487250_3697_n.jpg
Google photo : showing a large kapayang fruit.
The fruits are quite large.


Nang Chong Stories : Young Teacher of Tiing Nang School

The Tiing Nang Primary School was started by my maternal grandfather, Lau Kah Chui in 1930's. There were six class rooms and a Church, Hook Ming Church next door.

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My mother at age 22 after she left teaching., just before her marriage.
During the opening ceremony, my maternal grandfather, who was made Chairman of the Board of Directors, as he had donated the 2 acres of land for the church and the school, was invited to make a speech.

Grandpa was not educated in Mandarin, so he spoke in Foochow. He was also a man of few words.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for inviting me to speak today . You have heard my brother Kah Tii (Mo Mo) and his fine speeches in the past. Today I have this opportunity to speak and may be only this once you can hear me. You have been given sharks' fins by my brother. Today I would say something. So it will be just like a small plate of Kang Kong. My speech is very simple, nothing grand. I thank you for coming. I thank every one for building the school and the church together with me. I thank God for today. This is a grand day for Nang Chong to have a primary school and church and I am very happy. Thank you.

As my mother  graduated  with Jr. 3 and  her education was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation, she started teaching Music, Singing and Arithmetic immediately after the Japanese left in 1945. She taught for two years after which she gave her position to her sister-in-law who came from China.
Her salary then was only 30 dollars.

She said that it was not that easy, as there were no books after the war and every one was poor. So she devised her own lesson plans to fill the time . She herself was around 18 years old then. But since the children were keen to learn, she and the children learned together with minimal aids and texts. Exercise books were also very limited.

June 29, 2017

TB Prevention

Before Malaysia was formed, health service in Sibu was rather basic.

I remember a few Foochow elders were isolated in the TB ward of the Lau King Howe Hospital.


the Health clinic of Sibu was called "Wu Lek Hui" by the Foochows. and the name stuck to this day. Wu Lek Hui actually refers to the Methodist Church fellowship of Epsworth League, which was named Wu Lek Hui, Hui meaning League. Probably Epsworth sounds like Wu Lek. Any one wanting some medication or examination would go to the Wu Lek Hui, which was sited at the Channel Road.


those Chinese and Ibans who lived around sibu who were found to be TB infected were given treatment. The ones who were not too serious had to receive injections regularly. While whose who were serious and probably dying, were kept in the Lau King Howe's TB clinic. They were considered Locked Up patients and were not allowed to escape.

Many had actually tried to run away and that would mean that they would spread their contagious disease.

The Ibans in order to isolate those suffering from TB, got them to live in isolation. This was called, "Diau kediri" in the Iban language.


In later years vaccination, inoculation and other injections were given to children for better health care. The Wu Lek Hui became the Mother and Child Clinic, and Lau King Howe Hospital had adult outpatient care.

BCG was given to babies who attended Child Care clinics and to  all primary school students who did not get BCG vaccine when they were younger. It leaves behind quite a bad scar for some children. some girls even had horrendous scars.


Image result for BCG on arms

"BCG, or bacille Calmette-Guerin, is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease.  BCG is used in Malaysia and other countries with a high prevalence of TB to prevent childhood tuberculous meningitis and miliary disease.

June 24, 2017

Seeds of Cangkok Manis



The loveliest of pinks...these are seeds of a favourite Sarawakian vegetable, Cangkok Manis.Image may contain: plant, nature, outdoor and food

Cangkok is an Iban word. When the Foochows first came to Sibu they watched the Ibans foraging for vegetables. And soon they learned to eat this vegetable. According to my paternal grandfather, the Foochow pioneers quickly learned how to cultivate the cangkok manis which grew fast. They even added the vegetables to their rice. Usually they cooked soup with the vegetables.Image may contain: plant, flower, nature and outdoor

The cangkok manis is very sweet. And may be that is why some Chinese call it sayur manis.

Usually the Foochows did not grow the cangkok manis from seeds. They found that it was easier to stick the stalks into the soil and leaves would sprout within days. The plants can grow more and more stalks and can last for more than 15 years.

More than 100 years later, we the younger generations continue to enjoy this vegetable which is now a popular restaurant dish.

June 23, 2017

Nang Chong Stories : Headmaster Lau Yiing Chiong

Tiing Nang Primary School in Nang chong was founded by my maternal grandfather who donated 2 acres of land to the Methodist Mission to build a primary school and a church (Hook Ming Church).

The first Headmaster of the primary school was none other than his nephew, Lau Yung Chiong, whom he loved dearly.

Uncle Lau Yung Chiong was a gentleman, very soft spoken and kind to all his students. He was honest and a very dignified man who had strong values and beliefs.

It would take a person 40 minutes (barefooted) to reach the school from the river bank. My mother and her siblings and other relatives would walk to the school every day before the Japanese Occupation. Many students had to tap rubber before going to school. And the teachers themselves would also tap rubber before school. My mother remembers that most of them walked barefooted to school.

He and his family, especially his two elder sons, were very close to my mother. And his wife, was particularly close to my maternal grandmother.

June 22, 2017

Sibu Tales. Hair cuts for the Girls 1930's

The Sibu born Foochow girls were all disciplined well by their parents who were mostly born in Fujian.

Firstly while their mothers had straight hair styles, with no perming allowed, the young girls kept their hair short. This way of cutting hair was called "as high as the ears".

Secondly, short hair was preferred because it was easier to maintain, wash and dried in the hot climate. Mothers did not have to comb their hair too often. Long hair needed a lot of maintenance, combing and plaiting.

Thirdly, short hair also meant that lice would not develop so easily. The best treatment for lice was kerosene. And most of the girls did not like that.Image result for Sibu foochow girls

Fourthly - girls could only have their hair cut at home by either their own father or by an older brother who was named "barber of the family".

Fifthly, the style of hair cut was also called Coconut hair style, because the front part covered the forehead , just above the eye brows. When the girls grew older, many would part the hair at the side or in the middle and clip with some hair clips . According to my aunts they did not like their coconut hair style. In Bintangor, my aunts went to the Chinese primary school and later when they were older they went to Yuk Ing Girls school, Sibu as boarders. Two of them were in the same class, in the photo above.


My father's second brother thus became the family's barber and hair stylist for years from the time he was able to cut hair until almost all the sisters could go off to boarding school. He was strict with all the girls and he made sure that their hair was always short.


June 20, 2017

Sungei Merah Stories : Brinjal Soup


My grandmother Siew and Aunty Hiong used to plant a few plots of brinjals and ladies' fingers.

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Popular Brinjal soup, Japanese style. Google
Grandma loved to cook these two vegetables for grandpa Tiong Kung Ping as they were his favourites.

However one dish that was truly memorable was her brinjal soup. Plain cut brinjals in a soup of garlic and perhaps a bit of ikan bilis or a bit of ern chow. But as children we could eat almost anything. She was glad that I learned to eat vegetables and especially her brinjals.


Today, we all love brinjals or egg plants, cooked in any way. Each time I see people growing brinjals I would think of Grandfather and the backyard garden that he started when he moved to the big house on the hill in Sg. Merah.Image may contain: food

I will try to re-create the Tiong Kung Ping Brinjal Soup soon.....


Mashed Brinjal Soup with Ern Chow

(Steam the brinjals and then mash well, use a bit of oil to stir fry some garlic until aromatic, add a small spoon of ern chow..and add the mashed brinjal...add water. A fragrant Ming Chiang Soup from Fujian)

June 17, 2017

Sibu Tales : Headman Kang Hing Yu

Tanjong Kunyit is not far from my grandmother's village of Nang Chong, Sibu.

We remember an excellent headman from Tanjong Kunyit who was  very helpful and kind.

Mr. Kang was an excellent Chinese scholar and teacher too. Today's post is related to the use of Chinese among the headmen of the Chinese community. Chinese was still used by the Sarawak Government in 1959 as an acceptable language.

It is very interesting to look at how Chinese headmen were selected, appointed and "certified".

Here is one example of Headman Kang Hing Yu of Tanjong Kunyit where many of my relatives lived.

When he was appointed Headman, Area No. 9 or Tanjong Kunyit in 1959, he was given the decree, with an official stamp, written in Chinese. He also had the right to have a rubber stamp for official work.

http://www.daddysloft.com/Father%27s%20portrait,%20plague,%20stamp,%20decree.jpg


The Headman's wife, I remember was a very polite, soft spoken lady. She was considered an excellent partner of a very busy man. We called her aunty and she often visited. One of her businesses was selling of chicken eggs. Mrs. Kang and her daughter Miss Kang who taught in Tiong Hin School were very loving folks.

A certificate like this and any other documents are of great interests to the new generation, researchers, scholars and the general public.


Reference :
1. Alan Kang (NZ)

2. http://sarawakiana.blogspot.my/2008/04/short-history-of-management-of-foochow.html




June 16, 2017

Steamed Pork Buns



Many mothers would love to make baos for their children. It is always good to share the recipe, or to teach a friend to make baos. I am glad I had a friend who taught me how to make baos. 

In fact, as a child, I had learned from my third uncle and later from an adopted aunt. But some how over the years because I was busy with my studies and then with my career, I never did cultivate the art of making baos. But here it is a recipe from a friend.

Steamed bao Dough Recipe Ingredients:Image result for steam sio bao

4 tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm water 
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup lard
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons white vinegar
6 cups of all-purpose flour
extra flour for kneading
Procedure:

In big bowl, put yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, and warm water.  Let rise for ten minutes. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 cup lard, one tablespoon baking powder, and 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Gradually add 6 cups of flour.  Knead until the flour stick together into a ball. Then knead on a clean surface for about 8 minutes, adding about 1/2 cup more of flour if necessary. Form into a ball and place on lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. Then place on a lightly floured surface and roll to make a long roll and divide into about 20 to 24 pieces. Form into smooth balls, then roll with hands to elongate dough a little. Flatten dough, put filling in the center, seal, and place on paper. Let rise for 30 minutes or until smooth. Put in steamer 1/2″ apart. Steam over high heat for about 10 minutes. Wait 5 minutes before removing the cover.
Filling

2.2 pork - sliced thinly into 1/2″ cubes.
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 star anise
2 tablespoons cornstarch

In a pan, put pork, 1 cup water, soy sauce, brown sugar, and star anise. Let boil, covered until pork is tender, about 45 minutes or more. Strain. Save sauce. Set aside and make the sauce later.
Sauce:
Mix together 3 cups of water, 1 Knorr beef cube, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed in water. Boil until Knorr cube and sugar have melted. Mix well and cool. Thicken sauce with 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with water. Put a little pork filling in center of bao dough. Top with a little sauce.
Fill the center with the pork filling, bring up and seal lightly, and put on paper. Let rise for 30 minutes and steam in the steamer on high heat for 10 minutes. Do not open lid of steamer until after 5 minutes.

June 15, 2017

Miri : Pa Lo Duck


Image result for pak lo duck Sarawakiana



In Miri, it has always been easy to get a whole duck already cooked from a coffee shop.

Pak Lo Duck is a popular food which goes with rice for a simple meal.

Ingredients
Pak Lo Duck
1 tablespoon five-star spice mixed with 2 teaspoons salt
1 whole duck (2.5kg)
25g galangal, finely sliced
1 whole head garlic, cloves peeled and finely sliced
1 tablespoon soya bean oil
6 tablespoons sugar
1 small cup soy sauce
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
100g rock sugar
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
Dipping Sauce
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 long red chillies
salt to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar or juice of 3 lemons


Method

Rub the five-spice and salt all over the duck. Fry the galangal and garlic in the oil in a wok until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Add the 6 tablespoons sugar to the wok and stir until melted. Add the soy sauce, then the duck and turn to coat with mixture. Add 1 small cup water, reduce heat then baste the duck.

Add another big cup of water. Return the galangal and garlic to the wok. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat then simmer for 30 minutes, turning the duck regularly. Add extra water if necessary. Use a fork to check the meat is cooked through and tender.

Add the eggs in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Dissolve the rock sugar in 250ml water and spoon over the duck. Remove the duck to rest for around 10 minutes, reserving the gravy.

Carve the duck and arrange on a platter. Pour the gravy over the meat and arrange the cucumber and halved boiled eggs alongside. Serve with steamed rice and a bowl of dipping sauce for the meat and especially the cucumber. Serves 8.

Dipping Sauce
Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a small saucepan then take off the heat.

Note : This is a Teo chiew recipe. The Foochows do not use galangal or blue ginger.






June 14, 2017

Nanga Ngungun, Nanga Tada and Nanga Jagau


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More than 2,000 longhouse folk under the Nanga Ngungun resettlement scheme continue to live together since their reallocation in 1972. They have been provided with a primary school and a local clinic.
Related image
Tapang Tree and Tapang Honey
Now they also have mobile phone coverage and internet access.

Many people have bought their own cars and vans. The five-kilometre Nanga Ngemah-Nanga Ngungun Road was tar sealed in early 2011.

The longhouse folks have also planted a lot of oil palms.

Nanga Ngungun has 24 longhouses with a population of about 3,000.

Formed on April 2, 1972, Nanga Jagau with 22 longhouses is the most isolated of the resettlement schemes and until today only accessible by longboat.
Ng. Jagau - this photo shows the terrain of the area,

Ng. Ngungun, Ng. Jagau and Ulu Ng. Ngemah are so remote in Sarawak that they can only be reached by longboats since April 1972, when RASCOM resettled the Ibans of Ng. Tada, Ng Ngungun and Ng. Jagau under the code name of "Operation Bebatak" (meaning to pull together"

This regrouping was done on a voluntary basis, as fear spread across the land due to threat and intimidation by communist terrorists.

The people are still waiting for a good road to reach them.


Sago - A symbol of family wealth for the Bisayas

June 10, 2017

Sibu Tales : Long beans

Long beans were a staple in our family.

My mum liked it very much and we could have it every day and of course never get tired of eating it.

When we had too many long beans from our back yard, my maternal grandmother would bring them back to Nang Chong and wilt them to make salted long beans with some red wine lees. In this way we did not waste any food at all.

This was our childhood life when we had no refrigerators. The salted long beans really went very well with porridge (either breakfast or evening meal). Sometimes, fried peanuts would be the extra dish on the table, with drops of soy sauce.

And amazingly, the soup made from salted long beans was excellent. I suppose this is no longer considered a good soup today.

Grandma's preserved long beans would also be chopped up to become the fillings for our home made steamed baos, especially during the holidays when more than 10 grandchildren would be at the Nang Chong house.

June 7, 2017

Sarawakian Local Delights : Tempe

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Fried tempe is a nice dish. Originally from Indonesia.

It is a soy product and the photo below is from wikipedia, showing tempe freshly made and sold, wrapped in banana leaves. Soy beans are fermented and bound together by a natural culture (yeast) to make a cake.



Tempeh tempe.jpg

Fried tempe can be served with lelapan, nasi lemak. It can be stir fried with ikan bilis too. There are many other ways of using tempe in local cuisine.

No photo description available.

the invention of tempe is connected to tofu production in Java. The tofu making industry was introduced to Java by Chinese immigrants around the 17th century.

Chinese Indonesian historain, Ong Hok Ham suggestes that tempe was accidentally produced as the by product of the tofu industry in Java; a discarded soybeans caught the spores of a whitish fungus that was found to be edible.

Ref: Documents about tempe by Shurtieff and Aoyagi (1985,1989,2001)


Soh Mien on First Day of Lunar New Year

 Today 10.2.2024 is the first day of the New Lunar Year of the Dragon. Yes I have cooked the chicken and made the soh mien. Happy New Year!!...