A couple of days ago, I wrote about my trip to the Borneo Indigenous Market and things I bought at the market. You can read that post here: My First Trip to Borneo Indigenous Market to Purchase Pesticide-Free Wild Ferns, Dayak's Rice Wine, All-Natural Loofah, Traditional Snacks and Sarawak Street Food
One of the things I purchased at the market was "miding" a type of wild jungle fern that is famous in my home state of Sarawak (Borneo). So how do we cook this "miding"? It's very simple, which I am going to show you further down this post.
❤️ What Is "Miding"? ❤️
"Miding" (scientific name: stenochlaena palustris), is a type of wild jungle fern widely found over the jungles of Sarawak. It is known by many names such as "lemidin", "midin", "rambai", "biling", and "kalakai". This humble jungle fern has become a famous vegetable dish not just throughout Sarawak but also in Singapore. Yes, a couple of years ago, "miding" started to be freshly air-flown to Singapore to meet the demand from new fans in the island state.
"Miding" is commonly cooked with "belacan" or shrimp paste, which is quite similar to how you cook "kangkong belacan" in Peninsular Malaysia. "Kangkong belacan" (water spinach with shrimp paste) is another popular vegetable dish in Malaysia.
❤️ The Ingredients ❤️
"Miding" is highly perishable and must be cooked and consumed within a day. The green leaves and stems turn dark brown and black after a couple of days even if stored in the fridge. I cooked the "miding" I bought on the day I purchased it.
"Miding" has to be cleaned and prepared before it can be cooked by breaking the stalk roughly a little below the midpoint with its leaves. The lower stalk is discarded because it's too hard to be consumed.
- Some anchovies.
- Sliced garlic and onion.
- "Belacan" or shrimp paste. I purchased this homemade shrimp paste at the indigenous market but I forgot to mention it in my previous post. Homemade shrimp paste tastes better compared to the ones commonly sold at local grocery stores. Less salty with higher shrimp content.
- A pinch of salt
- One tablespoon of cooking oil
❤️ Super Duper Simple Instructions ❤️
- Mix half a teaspoon of shrimp paste with water. Squash the paste evenly.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a pan. Sauté the garlic, onion, and anchovies until the aroma arises.
- Stir-fry the cleaned "miding".
- Add a small amount of water and continue to stir fry it for a couple of minutes under medium heat.
- Add a pinch of salt.
- Pour in the shrimp paste mixture and continue to stir-fry it for a minute.
- And turn off the heat and our stir-fried "miding" with shrimp paste is ready to serve. It's best consumed while it's still hot.
- This is not related to "miding" but my hubby made grilled chicken for our lunch.
- And "miding" is best consumed with rice and in my case with grilled chicken as an additional side dish.
As you can see "miding" is very easy to prepare can be cooked in a hurry. It's a common vegetable dish among the Dayaks of Borneo. However, today, this lowly wild jungle fern is not just enjoyed by rural Dayaks but also available in five-star hotels and restaurants in cities throughout Sarawak and even Singapore!
That's it for now. If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate it so much! Kindly give me a follow if you like my content. I mostly write about making art, life musing, and our mundane yet charming family life here in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
Note: All images used belong to me unless stated otherwise.
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