Ambuyat, a traditional local dish produced from sago, remains popular with the Brunei people. But in spite of its popularity, not many people especially the youths know how ambulong or sago starch is produced, RTB reported last night.
Nowadays, the traditional way of processing sago starch is no longer used with the adoption of modern processing machinery.
An RTB crew recently went to Kuala Balai in the Belait District to have a closer look at how sago starch is produced using the old way.
Kuala Balai is one of the original areas where sago is produced. Histrorically, ambulong or sago was first produced during the early part of the Second World War in the 1940's when rice was hard to come by and people had to find an alternative staple food base. For Kuala Balai residents, they turned to the 'Rumbia' or sago palm, from which they extracted the starchy part as food.
Dayang Hjh Masnah binti Abdul Rahman explained how sago was processed the traditional way. She said the first step was to choose the right tree, the trunk of which should be at least 10 feet long, as the longer the tree the more sago starch it contains.
After the tree is cut down, the bark is removed and the remaining inner part is grated into a container, which is then mixed with water. The mixture is then trodden by feet and the liquid, which is squeezed out, is strained and collected onto a trough. This will harden to become the white starchy sago.
Apart from the Belait ethnic group, the Melanau and the Penan people of Sarawak are also well-known in the making of ambulong or sago.
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
ED NOTE: Ambuyat is also a popular dish in Sabah especially in the Sipitang and Beaufort districts.
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