Forbidden Food on Asia’s Biggest Island!! Welcome to Borneo!!

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🇮🇩 *Kota Kinabalu , INDONESIA*
🛖 *[PORK EATING DAYAK TRIBE IN INDONESIAN BORNEO!!]*

CO-HOSTS:
💁🏻‍♀️ Dahlia Hardie https://www.instagram.com/dahliahardie/
(Graphic + Brand Identity Designer)

1️⃣ *Lok Baintan Floating Market*
Sungai Tandipah, Sungai Tabuk

🍢 *CHICKEN SAT* (Meat Skewers)
💸 *Rp 30,000 IDR / $0.18 USD*

🍜 *SOTO BANJAR* (Banjarese Chicken Noodle Soup)
Cut Ketupat (Rice), shred meat. Add carrots, duck egg, potato, herbs. Chicken broth with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, salt, sugar.
💸 *Rp 20,000 IDR / $0.12 USD*

2️⃣ *Ketupat Kandangan Warung Kaum* https://www.instagram.com/warung.kaum/
Jl. Bumi Mas Raya, Pemurus Baru, Kec. Banjarmasin Sel., Kota Banjarmasin, Kalimantan Selatan 70236, Indonesia
*Husni* (Owner)

💠 *KETUPAT KANDANGAN*
Coconut leaves, rice. Grilled fish. Turmeric & salt marinade. Grilled offals. Broth (coconut milk, turmeric, salt, lemongrass). Onion topping.

3️⃣ *Pasar Barabai*
Barabai Utara, Central Hulu Sungai Regency
*Acil Tati* (Owner)

🐟 *IKAN PEKASAM* (Fermented Fish)

4️⃣ *Warung Makan DEA 2*
Jl. A. Yani, Barabai Utara, Kabupaten Hulu Sungai Tengah

♨️ *FRIED FERMENTED FISH* (1-Day and 4-Days)
Deep fry. Toasted rice. Chillies. Banana leaves. Onions. MSG. Cucumber. Coconut Milk.

5️⃣ *Kambiyain Village*
Sungsum, Tebing Tinggi, Balangan Regency
🙋🏻‍♀️ *Mega* (Dayak Local)
Mega’s Family: *Arbaiyah, Hasan, Amat, Abidin*

🔥 *FRIED FISH* (with Vegetables and Rice)
Clean, remove scales, gut innards. Chicken flavor powder, turmeric, salt. Cassava leaves, pea eggplant beans, eggplant, tomato, onion, garlic. Sambal sauce.

🐷 *DIPALAN PORK* (Traditional Bamboo Cooking Method)
Marinate meat with tamarind, patikala, sambalikan leaf, garlic, onion, cinnamon stick, alam leaf, MSG, salt, sugar, brown sugar. Stuff in bamboo tube and cook over charcoal.

Timestamps:
0:00 » Intro
1:25 » River Street Food
7:15 » Ketupat Kandangan
14:02 » Barabai
14:32 » Fermented Fish
21:49 » Dayak in Kambiyain
24:56 » Fried River Fish
26:39 » Bamboo Cooked Pork

#BEFRS #BestEverFoodReviewShow #BestEverBorneoFoodTour #BEFRSIndonesia #BEFRSkalimantan #BEFRSbanjarmasin #BEFRSdayak #BEFRShalal #Sonny #SonnySide #Food #Travel #BEFRSstreetfood #BEFRSseafood #BEFRSasia #BEFRSasianfood
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🥒 *ABOUT BEFRS:*
Hi, I’m Sonny! From the US, living in Asia for 10+ years & started making food/travel videos to document my experiences. I travel the world, hunting & documenting the most unique food everywhere.

See factual errors? Comment. Huge fan of trying interesting foods in each country. Show’s from a Western POV, more importantly, MY POV. Not meant to offend any person/culture. Peace!
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🎬 *CREDITS:*
DIRECTOR/HOST » Sonny Side
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY » Trần Quang Đạo
CAMERA OPERATORS » Đinh Tuấn Anh
EPISODE EDITORS » Dương Quốc Huy, Quí Đình Nguyễn, Jason Thach
COLOR & MASTER » Quí Nguyễn
MOTION GRAPHICS » Khang Bùi
PRODUCERS » Van Ho, Žaneta Vuová
LOCAL FIXER » Evonne Bianca https://northborneotv.com/
LOCAL GUIDE » Donny Moslem
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT » Shane O’Keeffe

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Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the largest in all of Asia. Its land is occupied by three different countries, Brunai, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In this land, a native court can rule that a buffalo must be slaughtered to settle a serious offense. And today, we’re witnessing that tradition up close. I’m on a mission to uncover this island’s flavors country by country to show you that food here is unlike anywhere else in the world. These are Sego worms. I want you to do it together. Together. All right. Cheers. [Applause] From sizzling smoking street foods. When you’re going down the road in this part of the countryside, if you see smoke, you should stop the drive-thru. To more daring dishes like this haunting plate of stir-fried bats. When you think Borneo, I don’t know. I think tropical jungle and sometimes I think bats. Well, they are flying around, right? Our mission begins in the country that takes up 73% of this island. I’m talking about Indonesia or Indonesian Borneo. In the country with the most Muslims in the world, how is it still possible to find Islam’s most forbidden food? Well, I’m here to find out. Along the way, I’ll uncover the Indonesian foods you’ll only find in this wild, remote corner of Borneo. The odor is undeniable. What’s your oldest fish here? four days. [Music] But first, street food on the water. Welcome to Banjar Masin. This place isn’t just a city by the river. It is the river. In fact, it’s an interconnected network of waterways that form a liquid highway. You will see tons of houses lining the water. People are bathing. They’re washing their clothes. And they even brush their teeth using the river water. Nine out of 10 dentists do not recommend. [Music] Bananjar Masin, the city of a thousand rivers. Since the 16th century, long before roads were carved through the jungle, these waters have been its lifeblood, feeding the people, moving the goods, and driving the economy. Here, life doesn’t just live by the river, it flows inside of it. Right now, we’re on a floating market. This place is like an ancient preserved form of commerce. This is where the wholesale of things like produce, vegetables, and other things took place. The most fun part about coming to this market is finding all the unusual things here that are for sale. Right here, this is something more typical. It’s some kind of a citrus fruit. I know your sales tactics, lady. I take a bite, I feel bad, and then I buy some. Well, I’m not going to. Yeah, I’ll take five. Lock Bonton Floating Market comes alive every morning. It’s a meeting point for people from nearby areas floating in to trade. Oh, he sells parking. I don’t know how it works to sell parking on a river. That’s what he’s doing. And he’s got a net for collecting money. Yeah, money net. Most of the vendors here are women dressed in the traditional Banar attire, paddling through a maze of boats, calling out to customers. Oh, this lady is selling um trinkets. These are old traditional trinkets. But this isn’t just a market. It’s a living, breathing piece of history that still flows strong today. Are you live streaming? Yes. How many people are watching right now? Yes. I don’t know what that means. Ah, fair enough. And this is why I travel, you know. It’s to connect with people on a deeper level like this. Well, nice meeting you. Thank you. Yeah. Take care. The best part about coming to this market is you don’t have to go to the food. The food comes to you. Like this. I am Mama Arena. Grilled chicken sauté. Sauté is a classic food of Indonesia, but here it’s on a boat. Hello. This looks amazing. Ooh, it smells so good out here. Saté Ayam is right here. Yeah. And there’s a grill over here. Hold on. I’ll be right back, ma’am. Right here, he has a two-tiered grill. He is grilling chicken skewers over charcoal and it looks amazing. It’s smoky. It smells delicious. So, I’m buying my first food of the day and my very first food here in Bordium. Oh. So, she dips it in a delicious sauté sauce. Even more sauce gets put on. Wow. And then a backup sauce in case that first sauce isn’t saucy enough. Thank you. I’m going to give you a pile of money and you just give me change. Now listen, when you travel, trust everybody. Give them all your money and see what they give back. It’s kind of a friendship test. Are we friends? Yeah. Okay. Wow. I just paid $500 for that. Chicken sauté. I would say it’s an iconic food, but it’s not unique. It doesn’t stand out. Except for it’s on a boat. That is very special to me. Ooh. Somehow making it on a boat makes it even better. Let’s give it a shot. M. You can taste the charm. The chicken is very lean. Beyond that, it’s very peanuty. It’s salty. There’s a lot of sugar inside. It’s very sweet. It’s amazing that guy doesn’t burn his whole boat down cuz that’s what I would do. The way you would recognize my boat was that it would be half on fire and half underwater. Over 600 different ethnic groups contribute to what the world knows as Indonesian food. Among those is Banjar cuisine with roots right here on this island. Many Banjar dishes have earned national recognition, but one always stands above the others. Hello. Hi. Hi. Right here they’re serving a dish called sto banjar or chicken soup. One bowl please. The dish begins with a local staple. Ketupot, a palm leaf wrapped rice cake. You’ll see how they’re made later. Then comes rice noodles, shredded chicken, carrots, a boiled duck egg, a deep fried potato dumpling, and finally a ladle full of rich chicken soup. Wow, it’s a chicken neck. What a wild assortment of chicken. We went from that to a big fatty. There’s a foot. Please, ma’am, put your foot in my soup. Let’s break it down. There’s so many elements in here. And right now, that kettobot is completely soaked up this delicious looking chicken bone broth. And it looks so oily on top. Oh, that’s nice. It’s so different. It’s kind of like chicken fat and sugar together forming what is a very satisfying, delicious broth. And because it’s simple, it kind of makes it hearty and refreshing at the same time. It is like chicken soup for the tropical soul. So, that is a broth. But what happens when you infuse that delicious broth into the rice cake with some of those vermicelli noodles. Nice. Ma’am, you’re doing good work here. The potato is a little bit more mushy and soft. The rice cake has a little bit more body to it. Moving on from the broth right here, we have a foot. When you’re eating like this on a river, you are very close to your food. I mean, this chicken was probably alive yesterday or this morning, and they didn’t waste any part of it. the foot, the neck, everything is being utilized here. This is a part that my grandpa used to eat when I was a kid, and it freaked me out. I was like, “Grandpa, who eats that? It looks like an appendage.” That is the chicken neck. It’s so weird, but it’s so good. Just don’t think about it too much. There’s like a wrinkly chicken neck. Oh, thank you. Wow. Full service restaurant. Almost any bite kissed by that broth is going to be delicious. I absolutely love it. I cannot believe that you can find a food of this quality here on the river, especially for this price. Soon, I’ll be saying goodbye to Banjar Masim and heading deeper into the countryside in search of some truly unique eats. After that, I’ll even get a bite of a food that’s forbidden for 87% of Indonesians. Cheers. But before I leave the city, I’m told there’s one street food I must try, and that street food is on the land. Well, good morning. Good morning, Sony. Welcome. Meet Dalia, Pancher Masi native and my culinary guide for the rest of this trip. We have a a fabulous meal in front of us right now. This is Ketuat. You cannot leave this city without first experiencing the glory of Ketuat Kandang, a local street food built around two key players. First, the Ketupat. That’s the same rice cake we saw this morning. It’s wrapped in young coconut leaves and boiled until the rice swells up tight, firm, and perfectly packed into its leafy container. Ketup pairs well with everything. But here in Bontar Masin, its soulmate is the snake have fish caught fresh from nearby rivers because the head looks like a snake. Actual snake very haram. But this fish still halal halal 100% loophole. These fish are not only plentiful, but locals can’t get enough of them. In fact, this restaurant goes through about 700 lb of snake head fish each week. The organs are removed and saved for a dish you’ll see later. The rest is scaled, filleted, and then marinated with turmeric and salt. Then it’s skewered and sent to my favorite destination, the grill. Once done, the fish is simmered in a rich coconut milk broth, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. Now, the assembly. A block of ketuupot, a chunk of smoky, tender snake head, and a ladle of that golden broth to tie it all together. In a moment, we’re going to try this out. But first, I want to back up and I want to talk to you about Borneo. Borneo is a fascinating place. It’s the largest island in all of Asia. The biggest of those being Indonesia, the country we’re in right now. So, it’s an island occupied by three different countries. So, after decolonization, Indonesia part was occupied by Dutch. Malaysia area and Brun also was occupied by British. After decolonization, everyone thinking, okay, we should combine it all together, right? But at the time, yes, we live in the same island, but not exactly the same way. Borneo may be one island, but it’s split three ways. And each side tells a different story. Indonesia, a republic. Malaysia, a constitutional monarchy with a rotating king. Brunai, an absolute monarchy under the Sultan. Different cultures, languages, levels of development, and politics. But one thread runs through them all. The majority of folks on this island practice Islam, meaning food must be halal or permissible according to Islamic standards. So that is Borneo. But let’s take a moment to zoom in back here to Banjar Masin where we have this beautiful dish in front of us. I saw this earlier. It’s like the rice has kind of melted into each other become very cakey. But all that is soaked or saturated in this delicious thick looking broth. The OG way to eat kapat is you can just do it like this. You break up the rice. Oh, that it’s hot too by the way. Yeah, you are able to make it crumble and fall back apart. And then it really is soaking up much more of that sauce. Oh, I like it. It’s just like a rich creamy coconut sauce or broth. It’s even maybe a little bit smoky. Very heartwarming. It’s very good. But beyond that, we have the fish on this side. We’re going to take some of the fish. You want to try it with sambar? Yeah. Okay. Not too much though. Careful though. Is that too much? This is full of seeds. This looks insanely hot. Be careful. All right. Cheers. Oopsie. Oops. It’s very spicy. Wow. I took too much. It tastes like regret. Why have you done this to me? Why have you brought me here? What? It’s so addictive. The skin is very thick, fatty. It’s got some nice flavor to it. And the meat very smoky. I think it’s been prepared for a long time. It’s almost kind of dehydrated and so it’s even more dense to chew on. Meanwhile, you got the sambal which is very fresh, but it’s like pure chili seeds. I love it and I hate it. You can also make the sambal. I’m good for now. Can you stop trying to poison me? It’s my first day. I need to make it to the end of this. I wonder if you could tell me a little bit more about this city these days. What are the rivers used for? If everyone’s using highways and streets, there are still area that are 100% water where you go to school with boat. Then you wash your clothes in the river that still use river as their main activity like floating market. But not as much anymore, you know. Now river is used for tourism purpose basically. Do you think that’s sad? It’s sad but also in the same time we live in modern era now. It it will happen eventually. So, moving on to our final dish here. This is something really special. All the snake head fish organs saved earlier, including the liver, intestines, and row, are thoroughly cleaned, then marinated with turmeric and salt. Just like the fillets, they’re skewered and grilled. Simple, smoky, and nothing left behind. This morning on the boat, I saw they use the chicken neck, they use the chicken feet. Now here we’re talking about fish and they’re essentially using the fish neck and fish feet but the internal organs instead. Is that a kind of a big thing here when it comes to food? People utilizing every part. Yeah. Yeah. We don’t throw away intestines like that. Don’t make it always except for the blood. It’s When you look at this, can you figure out what part is liver and what part is egg? It just looks all the same. It looks all the same. Oh, the texture is wild. It’s just so fatty. Let’s give it a shot. All right. Cheers. M. It’s intense. It’s like pure fat, but fishy fat. The texture is interesting as you find different organs. Some of them are chewy in a fun way, but then they’re just surrounded by a ton of greasy, oily fat. The really loose, gelatinous, fatty bits are a little bit more challenging. But here, this is some kind of organ, maybe intestine. I like it. Exploring a new place like Borneo is amazing, but sleeping in a new place isn’t always so great. You know, I travel a lot. New beds, new time zone, new mysterious noises outside my hotel room. Sleep can be complicated, but one thing that’s made a huge difference this past year is Mont Sleep. Their products are a mustpack for me on trips. And now they’ve dropped the Sound Mask V2. It blocks out all light, not some light, not most light, all of it. And now it plays sound, too. Music, white noise, or even a recording of my wife snoring, which is oddly soothing. The Bluetooth speakers are insanely thin, so I can sleep on my side without feeling like I have a hockey puck taped to the side of my head. And there’s no weird pressure, no bulk. Once I’m asleep, nothing interrupts me. Plus, the battery lasts 24 hours at full volume, so I don’t even have to charge it every night. The mask is breathable, stays in place, and the eye cups don’t press against your eyes. Whether I’m in a loud hotel, a tent in the middle of nowhere, or passed out on an airport chair, it helps me actually get some rest. So, if you want good sleep, even when the world is chaotic and loud, this is it. Now, back to the show. By the end of this video, I’ll meet the original inhabitants of Borneo and see how they live within Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority nation. But first, I’m leaving Banjar Masin behind and taking a 4-hour drive into the countryside to a place known for one of the most unique dishes in the region. Welcome to Barabai. [Music] At first glance, Asar Barabai is what you would expect from a traditional Southeast Asian market. Humid, loud, and chaotic in all the right ways. It’s packed with stalls selling everything you’d need for a grocery hall. But then you catch a whiff, something sharp, sour, unmistakable, and you realize this market has a signature food that comes with a signature smell. Right now, there’s bowls of these fermented fish all around us. The odor is undeniable. This is econ pekka, also known as fermented fish. My eyes are almost watery and for a second I was paranoid cuz I thought it was me. And I’m only contributing about 30% to the overall odor right now in this area. How did you get into this industry? She started at 2018. It was her mother-in-law and her mother is basically a family business. Before you tell me more about this hood, I need to confess something to you. A few months ago, I was in Koala Lumpur and we were making a video about the worst rated foods in all of Malaysia. This is one of the foods that came up as one of the worst rated foods in Malaysia. In Malaysia, but you know, I think it works for Indonesia, too. So, one of the reasons I’m excited to try this today is to find out if it really does have that bad reputation or it’s misunderstood. Everyone likes it, at least from here. Because when people don’t have appetite to eat, they try to change the other food. And this is one of the option to open that appetite to make them more hungry. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. The fermentation starts with a humble river fish caught nearby. Miss Tati usually buys it pre-salted to save time. Then it’s cleaned and coated with brown toasted rice. And uh that’s it. From here the last remaining ingredient is time. Back then the pilgrimage Muslim go to Mecca and it takes months to arrive there before the airplane exist. So they need to bring food on the way to my car, you know, go for months. So they brought this. So it goes way back. Way back. Yeah. Okay. Do you want me to? All right. I don’t mind. You don’t mind? Okay. All right. I’m used to it. Ah, it’s not bad when you’re up close. Well, this must not be that smelly of one. Maybe I’m just smelling the sidewalk to be honest. This fish that you see here, they made it today. Okay. So, what’s your oldest fish here? four days. Oh yeah, it’s more sour. It definitely has a more fermented quality to it. The more days you put it in room temperature, the sour it gets. But if you put it in the fridge, even longer, maybe take months. The best one is the 2 days or 3 days. Pakasan. I’m going to do something special for us. I’m going to find the absolute oldest fish that I can for you and I to eat. Yeah, hopefully you will. All right, let’s give it a shot. With our special ingredient in hand, I’m heading to a nearby restaurant that knows its way around rotten fish. Here, the owner starts simple with the one-day old fermented fish. First, it’s deep fried long and strong until it’s cooked all the way through. [Music] Then comes the punch. Onions, garlic, chilies, and toasted rice hit the pan. Finally, she adds a mountain of green and red chilies. Cook down until everything sings in unison. Is it one day old considered fermented? It’s just one day. Still fermented because of the process. So, I’ve got some entire whole pieces of fish here. What if we just try a whole piece of fish? All right, let’s go. Cheers. Okay, it’s a little fishy. It’s slightly sour. You get some of that toasted rice and then insanely salty. There’s certain foods out there that are, it seems like a food, but really it’s kind of like half food, half seasoning, and you’re supposed to pair it with rice. Is that the purpose of this food? Should be with rice. I usually just eat it like this. Okay. So, you have one micro piece of fish and then you eat it. That’s it. Or I I like to use some ball. I don’t want to take it too much cuz it’s spicy. No kidding. You have like almost no fish and almost no sambal. Essentially, a rice ball. I’m going to mix that together and toss it back. Oh, it’s spicy. Oh my god. Spicy. crunchy garlic, crunchy bits of toasted rice, the fish are crunchy, too. You mix that with a sambal, crazy hot, citrusy. It’s a pretty good combination. I got to say, I think this is one of those foods that is misunderstood. Thank you for saying that. I think the reason is because people go to the market and they smell it and then they shut it down. They’re not interested from that point on. But then there’s this, the 4 days. And this could be a problem. This is the oldest fermented fish I could find in the market. But even at just 4 days, this school of fish emits a funk that’ll make your eyes water. Just like before, it starts with a long, patient deep frying, then garlic, onion, and a serious handful of green and red chilies. Same fish, same method, but the result is day and night. So, in a matter of 4 days, it’s completely decomposed, and I’m digging my hand in here now. It’s all just mulchy kind of I don’t know. You can see the fibers of the meat. You can see some chilies, but it’s really just like falling apart. This is a very different texture. There’s no whole fish remaining. I’m going to put some of this on top. I’m going to hit that with a little bit of sambal. It smells sour, but let’s see what happens when you mix it with sambal and rice. All right. You ready? Yeah. Cheers. [Music] Mhm. What is it? Less salty. less salty. It’s very sour. Excuse me. What happened to my voice? What would you compare that to? Old milk? I don’t know how old milk tastes like. You never just like grew up poor and then opened the fridge and then slammed milk and then it was you spit out chunks. That never happened to you in your whole life. All right. Well, we don’t all grow up the same. The more I eat it, the more I kind of like it to be honest. It’s like chewing tobacco almost. So, have you ever had the four day old fish like this? Yeah. This one? This one? Or even older? Is this something you would eat voluntarily when you’re not on a food show? Yeah. Between these two, this one I’m iffy on. I feel like this one I need to get to know more. It’s kind of an introvert, but it’s weird and a little greasy and it might shoot up the school, but I want to be friends with it just in case. Wait, what? [Music] Indonesia is an interesting country because this is the country with the biggest population of Muslims anywhere in the world. I just came from the country of Afghanistan and compared to Afghanistan here, it’s like Islam light. You consider yourself Muslim? Yes. Yeah, I am Muslim. But you could never dress the way you’re dressed right now in Afghanistan where they’re practicing Sharia law. And no woman, even a visitor, could go outside without their head being covered in long flowing clothes. Where is the intensity of Islam here in this country? I know the rules that it’s totally forbidden for me not to wear hijab. But also, there is a choice that you can take. We do have a law in Islamic, but the Sharia law doesn’t apply into the government law. Indonesia practices Islamic law, but it’s a far cry from the hardline version you’d see in a country like Afghanistan. Civil law takes the wheel most of the time. Booze is legal in plenty of places, and women can work, drive, and wear what they want. The only thing that affects us as a Muslim country is just the rules of the halal and haram food. Almost everything inside the river or the ocean is halal. Blood, pork, or maybe like snake, crocodile is haram. It makes sense that when 80% of the population is Muslim, pork pretty much vanishes from the menu. That kind of absence shapes the cuisine of a country in a big way. But what about the other 13%? How do they eat? And how do they hold on to their traditions? In a country where their favorite protein is practically taboo, uh, Mega. Yes, I’m Mega. M E G A. Yes. That’s a cool name. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me to your village. An hour’s drive from Barabai, deeper into the countryside, will bring you to Kambiang village, home to one of Borneo’s native ethnic groups in your house. How many people are there? Seven and brother-in-law and sister two, sister three, and sister four. And that’s a lot of sisters. Meet the Meritus DAK, who have called this island home for at least 3,000 years. They’ve got their own dialect, customs, culture, and even their own set of laws. Meaning, Islamic rules don’t apply here. I noticed your village has so many pigs. But the pigs stay here. Yes. Stay here. They don’t run away. No. No. Why people in eating and pig? Because people eat the pigs. Yes. For me, even more reason to leave if I’m a pig. Yes. I’m saying why do the pigs uh not run away? Because uh I get to the foot and the feet. Ah, and dab the close the nature. Living with nature. Yes, there’s some nature right there. It’s just a dog, I guess. Eat the dog. No. Okay, just checking. I’m just checking. Let’s go. Let’s go. Dak is a broad term that covers over 200 river and hill dwelling tribes. The ones we’re visiting are the DAK ptop. At their core, they’re cultivators living off the land, not just to survive, but to sustain a way of life through farming, foraging, and when the need arises, hunting and fishing. [Music] How often are folks in this village eating fish? Sometimes. They say they’re very dependent with the river to get the food resources like fish. But the most important meal for them is the veggies. Fish is not exactly every day. Maybe every 3 days or something. But also, they’re not doing it every single day though. You know, they’re going to the market as well to buy fish. What’s happening more often? Going to the market or actually spearing a fish? Doing market. They’re going to market. How about spearing a fish at the market? I’m welcomed by the villagers with an introduction the best way they know how through food. First, a local river fish is scaled, gutted, and portioned. Then, marinated in garlic, turmeric, chicken powder, and salt. While the fish fries to a golden crisp, the sides come together in another pan. Batch one, boiled pea, eggplant, and onions. Batch two, boiled cassava leaves. And batch three, boiled eggplant and tomato. This here, usually without the meat, is what daily breakfast looks like in this corner of Borneo. This is a mega welcome meal. Her name is Jawat. Her name is Whose name? The fish. The fish. Her name. Oh, I didn’t know you were talking about her. I thought you might be talking about her also. Hello. Nice to meet you. So, are people here also eating with their hands? All right. We’ve got some rice. We have some greens or some veggies. And then we have the actual fish right here. Should we give it a shot? M. I find the plant to be kind of bitter when you get some sambble on there. It’s fishy. It’s smoky. It’s full of chilies. It’s very good. But then here we have the fish. Oh, I like that. It’s very fatty. It’s opposite of tilapia. It’s not tender and flaky. It’s like a big bold fatty fish. It’s very nice. But here’s what would make it even better. Some sambal. Oh, that’s life-changing. Who made this sambal? You made it. Wow. I’m very impressed. Can everybody make sambal? Does everyone have their own recipe? Yeah. This is a completely different part of Indonesia. Have you been out here before? This is my first time as well. So for you, what are some of the differences that you see? The pig. Well, but as a Muslim woman, you’re not horrified. As long as I don’t touch it. It’s haram to touch it. You can’t even touch it. I can’t. But they are kind of cute. Yeah. Okay. See, it’s tough to admit. But later today, we’re going to be having one of those pigs running around the neighborhood. We’re going to find one and we’re going to [Music] When is the last time folks in this village slaughtered a pig and ate it together? November, summer, December. They slaughtered a pig in a special occasion, maybe for the ceremony or some rituals. The last time they did it was on December for the harvest time and then the November as well. So, they don’t eat that every single day. [Music] Before any animals life is taken, a prayer must be offered. A ritual asking their ancestors for permission and honoring the life that’s about to be given up. I’ve heard of the Dak people believing in something called animism. But what does God mean to you? He has the religion called kaharan. He said we do believe in God and we have really really close tight relationship with God. [Music] After the slaughter, the pig is doused in boiling water, softening the hair for an easy scrape. Then comes the butchering. The organs are set aside, saved for another dish. The rest is chopped down into bite-sized pieces, ready for the fire. Meanwhile, cooking vessels are being constructed from the very nature that surrounds us, bamboo. They’re very thankful that they live in this very rich nature so that they can use every single thing. So, it’s basically having the relationship with nature and then they’ll be able to use it as a daily life. Nice. I like that guy just started smoking. He couldn’t stop smoking for like 5 minutes. He’s smoking already. The organs are carried to the river, washed clean by the same waters that feed the forest. Quietly, they’re slipped into bamboo, untouched by spice, left to speak for themselves. The meat tells a different story. It’s kissed with tamarind, patikala, wild herbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, MSG, garlic, onion, and salt. Everything is tucked into bamboo before its final destination, the flame. Have you ever eaten pork in your life? No, never. I grew up with the mindset that it’s haram. So, I grew the resistance towards it. [Music] Take a big whip. Yeah. Oh my god, it smells really good. The first time they pour it from the bamboo, I was like, “Wow.” Uh, I’m going to lose about 20% of my audience after this. Well, I’m not eating it. Not yet. No. Joining me, Mega’s relatives, Hassan, Amat, and Abid Dean. There you go. All right. Thank you. I’m not really happy. They said it’s been a while, and he’s like mouthwatering. Before a single bite is taken, a little bit of protein, a prayer is offered, an expression of gratitude to their ancestors and to the gods. So, this is really interesting right here. This is something you can eat cuz this rice was slaughtered in the whole hallway. In this village, no meal is complete without rice. Here, it’s cradled in banana leaves and shoved into bamboo tubes. Water is poured in and then, like everything else, the fire takes over. Slow, steady, and rooted in tradition. The rice becomes the plate, the eating vessel. Right here, we’ve got a piece. There’s some fat and there’s a thick skin. That’s really good. It’s amazing how tender the pork can get in a short time in that bamboo. But the spices taste a bit light. I taste MSG, of course, the juicy, delicious pork and turmeric. It’s like kind of the main flavor. So, you can imagine it, but don’t imagine it too hard. Does it meet your standard? And it’s more soul. It doesn’t meet your standard. That’s so funny. He’s criticizing the food. I love it. For you, what does it mean to be dak? video on that diet though diet is really cool because they can eat everything. Far fewer restrictions when it comes to the diet. You don’t need to have special people slaughter it. Just eat what you want. In general, the meat 100% delicious. But then there’s this over here. These are the organs, lungs, liver, kidneys, whatever fun stuff is inside. It’s all right there. Yeah, the liver is pretty intense. A little gy, a little dry and chalky. Organs are very good for you, especially liver. But the meat is absolutely delicious. I’m curious in a part of the world that’s almost all Muslim. I mean, how does that feel being somebody who belongs to a tribe that has completely different customs and traditions? [Music] Of course, there are challenges being diet, but specifically he cannot reveal what it is cuz it’s forbidden. Does he mean like legally? Unwritten law. I would say that’s interesting. But overall, he’s very grateful and being really really proud being diet. He has a really strong connection with nature as well. So he owns this land and he’s really proud of it. Do you know anybody who is DAK who converted to Islam? There are a lot of DA people who converted to Islam because they don’t interfere with their kids or other family members whether they want to be Christian or Muslim. They really give them their own choice. The number of the people is decreasing. But even though they converted to Islam or they’re converted to Christian or any other religion, they’re still diet by blood. So 50 years from now, do any DAK people remain or do they get swallowed up by the mainstream of Indonesia? As long as the earth still exists, as long as the sky still exists, he said the Dak people will still be existing. It won’t be gone. is up.