The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Bruneian Foods. If you manage to be in an Bruneian restaurant or you are visiting Brunei, I recommend the following:
1. Bamboo Chicken
The chicken is marinated in spices and stuffed on bamboo skewers. Put these bamboo sticks on the fire and cook the chicken. It is characterized by its rustic flavor and texture, and no oil or water. Garnish with onion rings, coriander and lime leaves.
2. Ayam Penyet
Its name literally means crushed chicken in Javanese as it is a rather spicy Indonesian dish that will make your tongue feel like it is on fire. It gets this name because it is pounded with a hammer or pestle before frying to make the meat more tender. It is served with sambal (a very spicy sauce) and kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).
3. Honey Garlic Chicken Pizza
This chicken and Honey Barbecue pizza is a homemade interpretation of a Pizza Hut quirk that gives a different and special flavor to pizza. Molasses, barbecue sauce and garlic are the base of this delicious and sticky pizza with grilled cheese and chicken, green onions, molasses and sesame seeds – this is a Brunei quirk you won’t want to miss! It is very popular in every restaurant in Brunei.
4. Hati Buyah
Hati Buyah is an exotic dish from Brunei. It is marinated and sautéed beef lung with a unique sour taste. It is made with beef lung, oil, spices, onion, vegetables and spice seeds. It has a smoky aroma and mild flavor. You can enjoy it with salads and vegetables.
5. Nasi Lemak
It is one of the most typical dishes in the country. It usually consists of a plate of rice surrounded by cucumber slices, anchovies, roasted peanuts, boiled egg and chicken or beef with a very spicy sauce. The best Nasi lemak is prepared by cooking the rice in coconut milk instead of water.
6. Nasi Katok
Nasi means rice, while Katok means pounding. The most interesting part of this dish must be the story behind the name. The name came about because people had to knock on the door of the nasi vendor to place their orders. Naturally, the name stuck and today the dish is among the best national dishes. There are multiple ways of preparing the dish in the country. However, basically, the contents are a portion of rice, a portion of chicken and sambal (sauce). This dish is very affordable so that everyone can try it.
7. Ketupat
It is a type of dumpling made of rice packed inside a woven palm leaf container. In Brunei they are usually triangular in shape and are not boiled. It is usually filled with glutinous rice cooked in santan or coconut paste and then steamed, which Bruneians call “di dadih”.
8. Kuih
They are single-serving desserts or snacks commonly found in Brunei and Malaysia. Unlike the universalism of Western desserts, kuih are often prepared with rice or rice flour, also with glutinous or tapioca flour and are steamed rather than traditionally baked, which gives them a chewy texture. Some specialties include coconut pudding, Lamban, Punjung, Jelurut, Kelupis and Pinjaram.
9. Roti
This dish is a kind of crêpe of Indian origin. This dough known in India as chapati can be eaten alone or stuffed with stews with pea curry, chicken, shrimp or beef stew and some even with sweet stews. Roti is made in the same way as chapati, but it is fried in very hot oil or ghee (clarified butter).
10. Ambuyat
It is a unique Brunei dish made from sago, the starch of the sago palm tree. It may not be very appetizing at first glance, because it has a white glue-like appearance and a mild starchy flavor. It is prepared with a mango-like fruit, binjai, or fermented shrimp (cencalu).
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Asian Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.