Let's try Umai Sarawak (Sarawak Raw Fish Salad)

Umai (Sarawak raw fish salad)

Servings for 4 pax

Description:
Umai is a raw fish salad popular among various ethnic groups of Sarawak, especially the Melanaus. In fact, umai is a traditional working lunch for the Melanau fishermen.

Umai is prepared raw from freshly caught fish, iced but not frozen. Main species used include Mackerel, Bawal Hitam and Umpirang.

It is made mainly of thin slivers of raw fish, thinly sliced onions, chilli, salt and the juice of sour fruits like lime or assam. It is usually accompanied by a bowl of toasted sago pearls instead of rice. Its simplicity makes it a cinch for fishermen to prepare it aboard their boats


Ingredients:

500 g white fish fillet
Marinade
10 baby limequats, juice
5 shallots
10 mild red cayenne chillies
7 cm piece fresh ginger
salt and milled pepper


Directions:
1. Slice the Mackerel fillet thinly and keep dry with a piece of cloth.
2. Marinate with the lime juice for 4 - 5 hours.
3. Drain off the lime juice and toss with blended ingredients.
Then, add in local lime juice and mix well (if local lime is not available, substitute with ordinary lime juice).
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

My father is very good in cooking Malay dishes. Umai is his favourite and he is really good in doing this. According to him, we can use various type of fish. Even you can use prawn instead of fish if you wish. Good Luck!