BORNEO indigenous fruit::daBAI

In this release, I would like to share you one of the local fruit that I really obsessed with. The rich biodiversity of the tropical rain forest in Sarawak offers an excellent source of fruits and vegetables. Canarium odontophyllum or commonly known as Dabai is popular among people living in Sarawak and also to many foreigner who had stayed for some time in Sarawak. The domesticated plant can be classified as indigenous fruit to Borneo and has been consumed by the rural as snack food. In Brunei it is called kembayau. Sarawakians called it buah dabai (dabai fruit). It can be found mainly in Sibu a.k.a. Sibu “olive”, however, like anything that can reap profit this little fruit has made it ways to every market in Sarawak. It is now a highly demanded seasonal fruit, hence the relatively high selling tag price.
The way to eat it is first rinse it then soaks in lukewarm water until it softens. You will never ever soften it by boiling. And, if you find that statement was illogical, believe me; try your best to do it! You can either eat it straight (I mean after you have softened it) or season with salt or black sweet or salty soy sauce to enhance the yellowish fresh creamy taste. Another way to ‘cook’ it, as demonstrated by friend Jonannes, is by soaking it with black soy sauce for at least four hours. Some people prefer to preserve it with coarse salt after deseeding it and that to me is the byproduct of the Dabai fruit. Nowadays, many Malay restaurants in Sarawak commercialized it under a menu called Dabai Fried Rice…yummy…yummy..!!.however, for those who have unmanageable hypertension and cholesterol, my advice is think twice before you consume…cheers