Bamboo Chicken (Ayam Pansuh)

Ayam pansuh is a dish prepared by cooking chicken meat in a bamboo and stuffed with water (which later will be the soup), seasonings and covered with tapioca leaves from the cassava plant (later can be eaten together with the cooked chicken). The origin of ayam pansuh is unknown, but the Ibans and the Bidayuhs (people of Sarawak) always prepare this dish on any celebration days, especially the Gawai Dayak (celebration for the end of harvesting). Ayam pansuh is typical among the people in Sara wak, Malaysia.

Here is the basic recipe for Pans oh (Pansuh).

Ingredient (Marinate) :

1. Meat (Chicken, Jungle Fowl, Duck, Wild Geese)
2. Garlic (pounded rough)
3. Shallot (pounded fine)
4. Ginger (pounded)
5. Turmeric Leaves (cut abt 5-10mm width)
6. Lemongrass (pounded)
7. Salt
8. Cassava/Tapioca Leaves
9. Young bamboo
Optional Ingredient:
1. Turmeric stump
2. Tepus/tipuk
3. MSG
4. Fermented durian (tempoyak)
5. Black pepper
6. Bird’s eye chillis
7. Young Galangal (sliced)
8. Daun Bungkang

Method :
1. Before using the bamboo, fill it with water for 1/2-1 hour to clean the inside, and encourage the water to seep in.
2. Marinate all Item 1-8 and Optional Ingredient together, leave some of tapioca leaves to cap the bamboo later on.
3. Emptied the water from the bamboo. Fill it with the marinated meat.
4. Don’t compact all meat, let it loose lightly.
5. If you want pansuh soup, add in a cup of water.
6. Capped the bamboo with tapioca leaves.
7. Cook over pit fire-charcoal or log-bamboo stand abt 60-80 degree.
8. Pansuh is cooked if the water start to gurgle at the cap.
9. In case the pansuh is dry type, take note of color changes on the tapioca leaves to determine if it is cooked.
10. To serve, just transfer the meat into a plate.

The Blowpipe

A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple weapon consisting of a small tube for firing light projectiles or darts.

The weapon is used by inserting the projectile inside the pipe (known as a blowgun) and using the force created by one’s breath to give the projectile momentum. Its propulsive power is limited by the user’s respiratory muscles.

Many cultures have used this weapon, but various indigenous peoples of South East Asia, the Amazon and Guiana regions of South America, and Guatemala in Central America are best known for its use. Projectiles include seeds, clay pellets, and darts. Some cultures dip the tip of the darts in curare or other poisons in order to paralyze the target. Blowguns were very rarely used by these tribes as anti-personnel weapons, but primarily to hunt small game such as monkeys. North American Cherokees were known for making blowguns out of river cane to supplement their diet with rabbits and other small creatures.

Today blowguns are used with tranquilizer darts to capture wildlife or to stun caged dangerous animals. Herpetologists use blowguns to capture elusive lizards with stun darts. Blowguns are also used recreationally, with either darts or paintballs.

Darts are typically made of hardwoods to prevent cracking, although bamboo skewers can be used informally. The dart’s fletch can be made of many materials, such as down, feather tips, and animal fur.

Bamboo Fish Trap

(Bubu) – one of the few trap for fish that don’t use any bait to lure it’s catch. It is very effective in catching quality fish with high price in the market, like grouper, snapper, lobster, crucifix crab (charybdis feriata), cattlefish and all sorts of sea foods. Sustainalble and eco-friendly fishing method, it uses bamboo, and with big hole it is safe for smaller fish, it uses natural materials and low at cost but needed some skills and talent when creating and using this kind of trap.

Methods on how to make:

1. You needed to choose big and mature bamboo, it must be cut to size, the length will depend on the desired size of the fish trap you’re planning to create.

2. Cut it in smaller size.

3. You have to further cut it into smaller size, around 8 mm wide.

4. Separate the skin of the bamboo from its flesh, using only the skin will make your fish trap durable and last for a long time, but for economic reason you can also use the bamboo flesh but it will have a short service and will be prone to damage cause by bigger fish.

5. You need to remove the skin from it’s flesh as fast a you can, when the bamboo is dry it is difficult to do so.

6. When the separation of skin and flesh are done, you can start the bamboo weaving.

7. The bamboo fish trap has three parts, the main part is the back or the body of the trap.

8. The stomach or the bottom area, here is the opening part to get the catch when completed.

9.One of the hardest part of weaving a bamboo fish trap is where to start, generally it is started at the pronged area of any part of the trap.

10. When every part is done it is ready to consolidate, you need three pieces of bambo with 1 1/2 or 2 inches in diameter to serve as flange or as backbone, you need to twist or arc the body to attach it on a bottom part. and tie them using nylon rope.

11. The entry part (galaw) the opening area needs to have some thorns made from bamboo strip with sharp point, by means of this, any fish can enter but it will difficult to get out.

Methods on how to use:

1. It needed some stone sinkers during it’s first time on the water, it is dry and will be underweight using sinkers will increase it’s sinking time so it won’t be wash away by tidal current, you can reduce the sinker when it is immersed for quite some time.

2. Using surrounding as a marker, they will find the exact area where they drop the trap, hard to believe but this fisherman know how to do it. To retrieve it, they use a steel claw with long rope, they will try to hook the nylon rope and bring the bamboo fish trap to the surface.

3. Using the opening area at the bottom it can get it’s catch by just removing the long bamboo stick, and put it back again to close.

Cooking Steamed Fish in a bamboo

Learn how to steam fish in a bamboo!

Nyishi traditional way of preparing steam fish in a bamboo. Mostly the Nyishi tribes of Arunachal Pradesh prepare food and other ethnic cuisines using bamboo. Rice, ethnic dishes are steam and cooked in bamboo.

The steam fish was cooked in a traditional kitchen which was set up inside a stall during the Panyor River Festival, Yazali village, Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. The fish was caught from the Panyor river.

Rainforest fishing experience

Fishing in the rainforest with Temiar aboriginal people in the rural Kuala Mu rainforest with traditional fishing methods.