Entree: Brunei – Ambuyat (Sago starch paste)

Food safety reminder: Follow safe food-handling practices and use a food thermometer to verify safe internal cooking temperatures.

Serving Size: 4

Approximate Time

Prep 25 min

Cook 15 min

Total 40 min

Ingredients

Sago starch — 300 g (2 cups) (estimated edible portion: 300 g)
Water — 1,900 g (8 cups), divided
Salt — 5 g (1 tsp)
Pandan leaves — 2 leaves (optional; estimated 10 g)
Whole mackerel, cleaned and gutted — 2 fish, 450 g gross total (225 g each); estimated 200 g cooked edible flesh with skin
Vegetable oil for grilling/frying — 14 g (1 tbsp)
Cucumber — 1 medium, sliced (estimated 200 g edible)
Sambal belacan — recipe section label; no separate ingredient quantity
Red chili peppers — 30 g (6–8 peppers)
Shallots — 40 g (4 shallots)
Garlic — 6 g (2 cloves)
Belacan (shrimp paste) — 15 g (1 tbsp); use a generic shrimp paste catalog entry as the practical estimate proxy
Lime juice — 30 g (2 tbsp)
Palm sugar — 4 g (1 tsp)
Vegetable oil for sambal — 14 g (1 tbsp)

Instructions

1. For the sambal, toast the belacan in a dry pan for 30–60 seconds. Pound or blend the chilies, shallots, garlic, and toasted belacan into a coarse paste.
2. Heat the sambal oil in a small pan. Fry the paste for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and palm sugar. Set aside.
3. Pat the mackerel dry and season it with a pinch of the measured salt. Heat the grilling/frying oil in a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Grill or pan-fry the fish for about 4–5 minutes per side, adjusting for thickness, until the flesh flakes and is cooked through. Keep warm.
4. Bring 1,420 g (6 cups) of the water to a boil with the pandan leaves, if using, and the remaining measured salt. In a bowl, whisk the sago starch with the remaining 480 g (2 cups) cold water to make a smooth slurry.
5. Reduce the heat to medium. Slowly pour in the slurry while stirring constantly. Continue stirring for 3–6 minutes, until the mixture is glossy, translucent, sticky, and elastic. Remove the pandan leaves.
6. Transfer the ambuyat to a serving bowl. Serve with the sambal, grilled mackerel, and sliced cucumber.