Bosou (KadazanDusun signature dish)

Bosou is a signature dish for KadazanDusun. There are various types of bosou such as bosou Sada (preserved fish), bosou nangko (preserved jack fruit), mix vegetables bosou (preserved mix vege) and many more. The smell is strong, yet the taste is uniquely delicious.

In the past, it has become a practice by postnatal mother to eat bosou because it's believed can increase the production of breast milk (should be heated first with a little water and some ginger).

Current generations are more creative, they have different ways to consume bosou to suit it with their tastes. Some may stir-fry it with onions, red chillies, sabahan white chillies, tuhau and any other ingredients. Some even eat it with western food like spaghetti. Usually it is served as a side dish.

photo credit to http://zenoed.com - Spaghetti Bosou Bolognese

Bosou Sada

(preserved fish)

Ingredients: 

1. Fresh water fish
2. Hot cooked rice
3. Buah pangi (keluak fruit)
4. salt

pangi @ keluak fruit

Methods:

• Clean the fish and drain off the remaining water.
• Pound pangi fruit into a powdery substances.
• Put the hot rice and fresh water fish in a bowl. Stir briefly and let to cool.
• Once cool, add pangi fruit and salt. Mix until well blended.
• Put inside bottle or airtight jar.
• Only to be eaten after fermented for a couple of weeks.
• To enhance the fragrance and its sour flavor, warm it or stir fry before serving.

The bosou - after stir-fried with tuhau, shallot, and sabahan white chili

Ginger Chicken

Ginger is native to India and China.  Ginger is the underground rhizome of the ginger plant.  The flesh of the ginger rhizome can be yellow, white or red in color, depending upon the variety. It is covered with a brownish skin that may either be thick or thin, depending upon whether the plant was harvested when it was mature or young. The ginger rhizome has a firm, yet striated texture and a taste that is aromatic, pungent and hot. For more info, please refer to this site and search for ginger:  http //whfoods.org/ 

Almost all farmers in my village are planting ginger besides other highland vegetables, it's cultivated on a large scale as a source of income or planted for own use. The use of ginger in cooking has become common since the time of our ancestors, as this is one of the ways to retains body warmth in cold weather, especially at night and during rainy season.  And the most important is, it can remove winds in the body.

Ginger

The highlander kitchen is seemed incomplete without ginger. It should always available in our kitchen because it is used in almost every dish, no matter in stir-fried, boiled, steamed or soup. And most of all, ginger is the ideal partner of lihing (Kadazandusun rice wine).

Ginger Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 500g chicken breast
2. 20g young ginger (sliced)
3. 1 red pepper (sliced)
4. 1 scallion (sliced)
5. 2 garlic (minced)

Marinate material:

1. 1 tbsp corn flour
2. 1 tbsp light soy sauce
3. 1 tsp pepper powder

Seasonings:

1. 1 tbsp light soy sauce
2. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
3. 1 tbsp rice wine (lihing)
4. ½ tsp sugar
5. 1 tsp sesame oil
6. ½ tbsp corn flour (dissolved in a little water)

Method:

• Slice the chicken breasts and marinate for a while, then blanch in boiling water. Drain.
• Heat oil in a wok and fry minced garlic until fragrant. Add in ginger, white part of scallion and chicken breast. Stir briefly.
• Put in all the seasonings except the sesame oil and corn flour. Stir until smooth. Then add green part of scallion and sliced red pepper.
• Thicken the gravy with cornstarch solution.
• Finally, sprinkle with sesame oil. Ready to serve.

Ginger chicken

Sambal Tuhau

tuhau

Tuhau included in the category of ginger. It is widely used in Sabahan dishes especially by the KadazanDusun community. Like other food ingredients, tuhau also can be mixed in any type of cooking such as soup or stir-fry. One of the most special and famous recipe is the sambal tuhau.

Sambal tuhau is a KadazanDusun traditional side dish. Its very flexible and can be served with various type of food, no matter traditional or modern dishes. Some people doesn’t like it due to the strong smell, but for sambal tuhau’s fan like me… that’s what make it really special... believe it or not… it’s also goes really well with the famous instant mi in Malaysia .. Maggie mee... yummy!

Sambal Tuhau

Ingredients:

1. 5-8 stems tuhau
   
2. 5 bird eye chili
3. 1 lime
4. Shrimp paste (optional)
5. some salt

Methods:

• Peel the hard skin of the tuhau’s stem, take only the soft inside. Then chop finely.
• Mash the bird eye chili. Mix together with the chopped tuhau.
• Add in salt and lime juice. Stir until well combined.
• Marinate for a while. Ready to serve.
• To be more durable, marinate with vinegar instead of lime juice and store in airtight jar. Refrigerate.