‘Gastronomy and I: My Favourite Dish’ Top 10 Articles (Adult) — Arrianne Imun Joseph Tiang

Kasam Babi

Ever heard of the term “live to eat”, which actually means eating a balanced healthy diet to live a healthy lifestyle? Honestly speaking, I am not against it but I believe that once in a while you just deserve a highly salted dish.

Kidding, I would eat it every day if it was not because of the high blood pressure running through my genes.

I would hear lectures from my mom, reminding my dad and I to eat less of it but she would keep ordering it every time from this one aunty, the house’s assigned supplier of my favourite kasam babi.

Ironically, she will also happily cook it for my dad and I despite having great ‘beef’ with the smell and taste. Eating every bite of kasam babi cooked by my mom easily reminds me of her warmth and love as she prepared the dish for her beloved despite the rotten smell lingering in her kitchen after.

Why devour such a food? Salty, oily, rotten as my mom says.

I agree that not all kasam babi tastes good. First step, like just every other dish, you have to know who makes the best kasam.

Sure I did encounter a few “this guy’s kasam is good” and it turned out to be just another salted fermented pork, no matter how much you tried to alter the taste.

As a so-called kasam babi connoisseur, I conclude that salt, rice and daun kepayang are the most important elements to ferment the meat, The Holy Trinity, if you will.

Cooked in a claypot with a few slices of terung asam and smashed garlic, just enough water to cover the meat and a few pinches of MSG to reduce the saltiness and voila!

A blend of “just right” saltiness and sour would be enough to make me have another bowl of rice, cancelling my proportionally planned 1,200 calories losing-weight diet by my dietitian.

Each bite would leave your mouth a tad bit salty, lips glistened with oil from the lard.

Every bite would remind me that I am home.

There is no way I can get all that in Penang! Maybe for a slightly higher price, but it would just remind me that I am at least 2,500 kilometres away from the place, people and food that made me feel at home.

Credits to all the friends I have in Penang, they have made it bearable for the two years I am away as they hear me craving for kasam babi every hour.

It is more than just a dish for me. It reminds me of my mom’s warmth, family gatherings, my culture and home.

Growing up in an Iban household, kasam babi is always the signature dish of the meal. “There will be kasam babi,” and all the aunts, uncles and cousins would be right up at your door for it. The glue of the community and family bonds, as we discuss whether it is the best kasam babi we ever ate. — DayakDaily

Arrianne Imun Joseph Tiang from Kota Samarahan is one of the top ten writers (Adult Category) in the ‘Gastronomy and I: My Favourite Dish’ writing competition organised by DayakDaily and supported by the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, and Imperial Hotel Kuching.

Process of making kasam babi. Photo by Arrianne Imun Joseph Tiang