Must-try traditional foods that you can only get in Sabah

If you ever find yourself in the Land Below the Wind a.k.a. Sabah, there are several interesting local delicacies that you must tickle your taste buds with. 

One of them might literally be ticklish, since it will wriggle in your mouth if served raw. Curious to find out which one? Read on below!  

Think caviar but vegetarian, this seaweed called latok is eaten mostly by the Sulu and Bajau people of Sabah. (Photo source: iloveborneo.my)

Rice (or yam) wrapped in leaf, the Kadazandusun people still serve linopot at gatherings, though usually in smaller sizes now. (Photo source: Edmund Samunting | BH Online)

Its glue-like appearance might not seem appetising but ambuyat is a delicious food made from sagu that tastes even better when eaten with pinasakan. (Photo source: willflyforfood)

What’s pinasakan? One of the traditional foods that’s still eaten frequently in Kadazandusun households, it’s braised fish cooked with tumeric and takob akob fruit (or just asam, depending on mum’s recipe). (Photo source: Holidify | sangyukmian Facebook)

Here’s another sour fish dish, pinongot, as the Kadazan people call it, or more popularly known as hinava. It is made from raw mackerel and mixed with lime juice, ginger, onions and chilli.  (Photo source: peppers-love.blogspot.com)

Butod or vutod is these ‘adorable’ worms harvested from the sagu tree or rumbia. Among the various ways it can be prepared are fried, smoked, in soup – or raw and wriggly. (Photo source: sabahanz.blogspot.com)

To anyone who can take pork, sinalau bakas or smoked wild boar needs to be on your must-eat meat menu when in Sabah. There’s even nasi lemak versions of this in certain KK restaurants. (Photo source: MKTEAMKKSABAH Facebook)

Bambangan is a fruit native to Borneo. Sabahans like to turn it into jeruk (pictured) and also use it in other dishes, like pinasakan. (Photo source: Lucy’s Cooking | cookpad.com/my)

When it comes to bosou, the raw fish doesn’t even get sliced! It’s simply mixed in with rice, salt, tuhau and various local fruits such as nangka and pineapple. (Photo source: MakananAsliSabah Facebook)

Once you get past the smell, tuhau proves to be a delectable accompaniment to your rice or other traditional Sabahan foods. It’s even been turned into serunding in recent times. (Photo source: Vulcan Post | fazlisyam.com & tavern.com.my)

If you want to know more about Sabah, please visit Sabahnites.