Ambuyat is the most
well-known Bruneian traditional
food that you must try if you come to Brunei Darussalam. It is made out of ambulong (sago powder), but any other starches (i.e. potato or corn) can be the substitutes. Since it is pure starch and doesn't have any tastes, it is eaten with sauces. Any ingredients can be used for the sauces, but tempoyak (durian) is the most
popular among Bruneians.
When you eat ambuyat, you must use traditional chopsticks called candas. You have to put candas into ambuyat, pull it out and roll it. This is a bit difficult, so many
people fail at this stage. However, if you've successfully done, put it into a
sauce and you can eat.
Ambuyat can be said an equivalent to rice and noodle. It is also eaten with side dishes, such as fish and vegetables. Sometimes, it is fried with eggs and soy sauces and became ambuyat goreng.
Ambuyat is also known as linut in
Malaysia and papeda in Indonesia.
Here's how to
cook and eat ambuyat. First, you must prepare ambulong and mix with room temperature water. Once it has a milk-like texture, pour some boiled water and mix until it becomes as sticky as mochi. Now, ambuyat is
done. You must use candas to roll and dip into a tempoyak
sauce to eat, but a spoon can also be used if you don't have candas or have an issue for using it. You may also fry with eggs and
soy sauces to make ambuyat goreng, something like nasi goreng or mi goreng.