Oil Palm shoots

 In Sarawak there are many species of palm shoots that can be cooked  as vegetables. Among the wild palm shoots that are popular are the Arenga brevipes (Aping- Iban), Eugeissona insignis , Eugeissonia tilis (Pantu - Iban) and Plectocomiopsis geminiflora (Lalis - Malay, Iban). Bamboo shoots are also commonly sold in many 'Tamu' or jungle produce markets.  But today I found one palm species that is becoming easier to obtain its shoots and sold in tamu markets due to its popularity as a cash crop among Sarawak's smallholders.  It is the oil palm shoot ( Sawit - Malay)  as shown in the inset.

A single stem shoot as seen above fetches a price of RM 30 per piece at the tamu market in Bintulu. But some vendors have sliced them up into small pieces to cater for small serving.  A small basket of the sliced oil palm shoots as seen in the inset costs RM 2, sufficient for a serving for two.  One of the most common recipe is to cook it with coconut milk called locally as ' masak lemak'.

Sunset at Kambatik eco-farm, Bintulu.

 You are well rewarded at the end of each day with some fantastic views of the sunset especially after a hard day's work.  Here's some views of the sunset taken from Zone I area of the Kambatik eco-farm in Bintulu.

The Jering tree

The Jering tree ( Pithecolobium lobatum) is fruiting well at the Kambatik eco-farm. What is interesting is the fact that this tree while heavily fruiting is starting to show off new flowers at the same time.  Thia is the first time I notice this phenomena.

 Flowers of the Jering

Having a good time this morning collecting the Jering fruits .
I use a long bamboo pole to twist the soft end branches.  The Jering is a well-known local fruit to help out with high blood pressure.  

 Jering fruit when ripe is roundish and has a dark brown thick covering. 

I prefer to eat it raw with the famous Bintulu belacan or shrimp paste pounded with fresh ginger, chillies and anchovies.