Traditional food

Sabahan traditional food to look for at a tamu

Dishes, snacks, fruit and drinks from Sabah’s Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut and other communities. Each guide explains what the food is, cites its sources, and names the tamu where a source confirms you can find it.

Background: an illustration, not a photograph of a particular tamu.

  • Illustration of hinava: slices of raw fish cured in lime juice with red chilli, shallot and ginger in a bowlIllustration — generated artwork

    Dish

    Hinava

    Raw fish cured in lime juice with chilli, shallot and ginger.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of tuhau relish: chopped wild ginger stems with chilli and lime, whole stems behindIllustration — generated artwork

    Relish

    Tuhau

    Pungent wild ginger stems, served fresh or as a relish.

    Confirmed at 1 tamu

  • Illustration of bambangan wild mangoes, one cut to show the yellow flesh, with slices in a bowlIllustration — generated artwork

    Fruit

    Bambangan

    Sabah’s sought-after wild mango, eaten fresh or pickled.

    Confirmed at 1 tamu

  • Illustration of whole fish braised in a yellow turmeric broth with small green sour fruit and chillies, beside turmeric root, shallots and dried chilliesIllustration — generated artwork

    Dish

    Pinasakan

    Fish braised with turmeric and sour wild fruit.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of a bowl of puffy amplang fish crackersIllustration — generated artwork

    Snack

    Amplang

    Crunchy fish crackers from Sabah’s east coast.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of ring-shaped fried kuih cincin on a plate, with blocks of palm sugarIllustration — generated artwork

    Kuih

    Kuih cincin

    Ring-shaped fried kuih sweetened with palm sugar.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of bosou, fish fermented with rice, in a glass jar and a small bowlIllustration — generated artwork

    Preserved food

    Bosou

    Fish or meat fermented with rice, salt and pangi fruit.

    Some bosou is made with pork or wild boar

    Confirmed at 1 tamu

  • Illustration of linopot rice parcels wrapped in leaves, one openedIllustration — generated artwork

    Dish

    Linopot

    Rice wrapped tightly in a leaf, sometimes with yam or sweet potato.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of a plate of latok sea grapesIllustration — generated artwork

    Seaweed

    Latok

    Bead-like sea grapes, usually eaten raw.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of domed, crisp-edged fried kuih penjaram on a plateIllustration — generated artwork

    Kuih

    Kuih penjaram

    Saucer-shaped fried cake, a tamu favourite in Kota Belud.

    Confirmed at 1 tamu

  • Illustration of two split, salted and sun-dried fish on a banana leaf in a woven tray, with shallots and garlic besideIllustration — generated artwork

    Salted fish

    Ikan liking

    Salted, sun-dried trevally from Kota Belud.

    Confirmed at 1 tamu

  • Illustration of ambuyat sago starch lifted with sticks from a wooden bowl, with dipping sauces and side dishesIllustration — generated artwork

    Dish

    Ambuyat

    Sticky sago starch eaten with bamboo sticks and dipping sauces.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of lacy, net-like kuih jala rolls on a plateIllustration — generated artwork

    Kuih

    Kuih jala

    Lacy, net-like fried kuih made with palm sugar.

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of an earthenware jar of tapai rice wine with a glass and a tray of riceIllustration — generated artwork

    Drink

    Tapai

    Traditional rice wine — alcoholic.

    Alcoholic

    No tamu confirmed yet

  • Illustration of a bottle of golden lihing rice wine with a cloth-wrapped stopper beside a glazed earthenware jar, rice, rice stalks and a woven trayIllustration — generated artwork

    Drink

    Lihing

    Glutinous rice wine from Penampang — alcoholic.

    Alcoholic

    No tamu confirmed yet