Well, some people have eaten them…and yours truly is guilty as charged. As far as I know, many people love durians while some cannot stand the smell. I don’t mind durian…but I absolutely love it served as a dessert, Thai style with pulut (glutinous rice) and santan (coconut milk). Drool! Drool! Other than that, I also like unripe durian cooked sayur rebus style. Anyway, this post is not going to be about the fruits…but about the flowers.
You can collect the flowers when they have dropped from the tree and then, taking the stamens, you have to remove the anthers, leaving only the filament. You must not wash the flowers prior to that or else, the anthers will become sticky. For this same reason, it is better not to collect the flowers if it has been raining.
Now, there are several ways of cooking the flowers and one of which is with kunyit (tumeric) masak lemak (with santan/coconut milk)
or you can fry them with sambal udang kering (dried prawns)…
A friend of mine once bought from the market some of the pounded ingredients for cooking curry and she just fried that in oil before adding the durian flowers and salt and msg. She let me try a bit and it was also very tasty.
Well, no-meat Friday is here again, so if I can have a dish of durian flowers to go with the rice, plus a bit of this umai (Melanau-style raw fish), that would definitely be a feast to behold…
Anyone care to join me…? LOL!!!
Footnote: The umai is from 3-Q Takeaway, located in the middle block (ground floor, to the left) at the Sibu Medical Centre. The food there is very nice (available for takeways only) and I love the kacang-ma. The only drawback is that there is no fixed menu so one will never know what they will cook on which days.
39 comments
Comments feed for this article
July 11, 2008 at 7:44 am
ahlost
Order please. One liulian hua !! Please send to Demak Laut. Thank you..
Sorry, no home delivery!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!
July 11, 2008 at 8:31 am
kpenyu2000
Ooiii… can you tell me what’s the difference of not having meat on friday and having a non meat FEAST/..gua..blur blurrrrr
I bet you dont the dried flowers are good too.for normal tea cup use 5 lulianhua(dried) and pour freshly boiled water..simmer 3-4 minutes and add natural honey..use three tines the amount of lulianhua if you make lulianhuaPing…great stuff man
Ouch!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!!…Aiyor so hard to get durian flowers these days, where got any left to dry and make tea?
July 11, 2008 at 8:45 am
Philip Hii
I love durian flowers fried with dry prawns.
Have about 10 matured durian trees in my garden but not flowering yet this year.I just noticed an
auntie collecting durian flowers at the roadside
near YMCA building this morning.
You have 10 trees!!! Ooo…you’re my friend!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!! Now I know where to get durian flowers next time! My mother-in-law has a tree at the back of her house but the pesky neighbours are always pestering her for some, so supply is somewhat limited.
P.S.: Didn’t meet up at Kokoberry last nite? Nobody informed u kah?
July 11, 2008 at 8:47 am
jenn
Ghee….i did not know the flowers can be eaten.We used to have a tree in the garden and it bore nothing but flowers. After 15 years, my dad chopped it down. Poor old durian tree. Now I’m tempted to plant a durian tree in the garden again…..thanks for the sharing. How does the flower taste? Like Jantung pisang or like the fruit itself?
Ooo…ur dad got rid of the golden goose! Here, at the native jungle produce market, you get only a handful for RM1!…It’s not like the fruit, none of that smell. Nice and crunchy, more like jantung pisang, I guess.
July 11, 2008 at 9:08 am
andrew
umai..sounds familiar..hmm..arghh..leaving 2morow..have to wait for 7 hours in airport again =.=..i will be alone at home 2morow morning..so sad
Going back already, but u never contacted me to go out mam-mam! Guess you’ve got ur friends around…Have a nice flight and all the best!
July 11, 2008 at 9:36 am
gerrie
Dad’s durian tree is flowering, and “fruiting” at the same time. Maybe should try one of your recipes.
That was his pride and joy!!! Go ahead and try! It’s nice!
July 11, 2008 at 9:38 am
willchua
Thanks for the meet last night. It was nice meeeting you all. Contact me if you are dropping by Sarikei.
Nice meeting u too. Will post on that soon. Sure, will look u up when in Sarikei!
July 11, 2008 at 11:00 am
Stella
Can’t recall trying durian flowers before,mum must have cooked it. however nothing beats durian with the lard oil n ’sagu’ yummm…!! there is a name for this but can’t remember what it is called now, esp delicious if using over-riped durians n everytime my mum opened the durians i always hope the durian is over-riped so can eat in this way.
Samui! I never liked that. Not so much into sagu and didn’t like the lard either. If I had to have durian, I would rather just eat as it is, but then, I’m not so much into durians either.
July 11, 2008 at 11:11 am
drumsticks
are those pictures your art? i mean.. you cook them? didn’t know durian flower can be eaten.. mmm.. never seen it before actually..
Yup! And ate them too!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!! City people…won’t know all these things kampung people eat, I guess!
July 11, 2008 at 11:31 am
Archie
wah stp, The Umai mcm tasty leh… this time reallly make me drools jor
Objektif tercapai!…Keep on drooling!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!
July 11, 2008 at 11:52 am
gundot
Stella, “samui”. Kpenyu, that’s new.. is that for real? I have not seen the flowers for sale yet. Must go look. Very good source of fiber. Comes out exactly how it goes in. jenn, too bad you lost a gold mine. Its about RM^ a kg.
Ya, that’s what I just told Jenn. They killed the golden goose. Don’t think I’d fancy the tea though…and eyew!!!! You didn’t chew properly before swallowing! Memang rangkak! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
July 11, 2008 at 11:53 am
gundot
Oophs jenn its RM6
I could guess that! U pressed shift for one key too long! LOL!!!
July 11, 2008 at 12:59 pm
angeles
does it taste / smell like liulian??
No, not at all!!! Very, very nice!!! Nicer than mi-din! Yum! Yum! Hahahahahahaha!!!!!
July 11, 2008 at 1:20 pm
anna
errr.. i nvr try midin too even thou my fren keep talking about it.
and rili nvr hear about the durian flower can be eat O_o
i love umai btw ^^. that umai pic make me hungry again. damn!
Never had midin?…You’re not from Sarawak? Must visit sometime. But durian flowers are seasonal. Midin, we can get anytime all year round. But how come you know umai then?
July 11, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Chris
keep the durian flower…just give me the umai!!
heheh… Guess that’s the melanau part of me..
You’re part Melanau too! Me as well…on my maternal side!!! That’s why I know how to cook and eat all that kampung stuff!!!
July 11, 2008 at 1:44 pm
andrew
hahahaha..no lar..friends were busy and i was worrying bout my visa..lol..just got it yesterday after calling those immigration ppl..or else i won’t be able to enter melbourne..cham
You never contacted me! Shy kah! That’s why I told Alex. In front of me, so shy and quiet, at the back…jadi hantu! Hahahahahahaha!!!!
July 11, 2008 at 1:51 pm
pollie
I like the not ripe durian-u cook with Ikan pusu/belacan and lots of chilli..soup type vv yummy .my mum used to cook that n I still cook if i can find such durian – its damn difficult to break the fruit open but worth it.
Ooo…I love that too! Sometimes so desperate, use tempoyak to cook!! Hahahahahaha!!!! Here at the native jungle produce market, they do have the durians – seeds only or sometimes, just the flesh…so no need to worry about opening the fruit.
July 11, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Chris
yup. my maternal grandfather was melanau-chinese
And my grandmother on my mother’s side was Melanau. We’re truly Malaysian hor? LOL!
July 11, 2008 at 3:50 pm
gerrie
This kpenyu….even the sister have to ask “is that for real”. Earlier I was asked to go refer to 4-d animal book, and interpret “whistle”. Kpenyu, if you reading, have not found the book yet, but am sure I’ve seen it before. Think it was dad’s bedtime reading material. LOL.
Huh? Well, whatever that ’s all about…what do u expect from a “law-eya”! Hahahahahahaha!!!!!
July 11, 2008 at 4:13 pm
andrew
no lar..lazy go out also..hahaha..november lar
OK…see u in November then. Maybe Alex will be home then? Or already working in Oz…..
July 11, 2008 at 5:19 pm
adrianaleu
Darn, it’s no where near dinner time but I’m already drooling looking at the photo of umai.
Hello. adriana! Where are u studying now? Thanks for dropping by, and do come again and drool some more! Hahahahahaha!!!!!
July 11, 2008 at 6:01 pm
kpenyu
gerrie….” bed time reading “….ask that maid..she may have slipped that into the baggage too.
What??? you never tried the TEA?…and I was not joking either that nightwhen I said that they have Durian flavour for that C thing too…..
When it comes from you, it’s hard to be sure! LOL!!!
July 11, 2008 at 6:43 pm
kpenyu
STP…correct correct correct……lol
Of course! I’m always correct! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!
July 12, 2008 at 2:08 am
Jimmy
Beautifully delivered photo.
Roses and flower photos are my favorite!
Thanks,
Jimmy
July 12, 2008 at 9:50 am
kataztrophy
Better to eat the plants than to be eaten. I learned that from Little Shop of Horrors.
LOL!!! I saw that movie too…long ago! There was a Venus fly trap, wasn’t there?…And thanks for dropping by.
July 13, 2008 at 12:13 am
anna
am from sarawak
i sesat lah mybe. ppl always thot im sabahan instead of sarawakian.. LOL
Over in the peninsular, they don’t know the difference…between Sabah and Sarawak. Has an email not too long ago about how little most of them know about these parts…but I never managed to post it in my blog.
July 13, 2008 at 12:14 am
anna
oh, i know umai coz i ate it before lah !:P
Yummy!!! Drool….!!! LOL!!!
July 13, 2008 at 1:08 am
thebayau
I love durian so much…
One of my die-for-fruit..
Eyew…!!! Too “heaty” for me! And sweet too!!!
July 13, 2008 at 9:16 am
Mack
The “heaty” effect will come if we taking a excessive and over dosages of durians.Lol..
but I still like durian..
Also not good for fat people like me! A few seeds more than enough! LOL!!!
July 13, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Mack
By the way.. I love umai to….
Lol one of my favorite Melanau authentic food.For me,the best umai is the one that made by my mum…*Drool*
Mum’s cooking’s the best!…Minta sikit? LOL!!!
July 13, 2008 at 4:54 pm
anna
i actually went to labuan matriculation before this. and there hv 50% sarawakian, and 50% sabahan.
and the ppl there, at labuan matriculation always thot im sabahan, coz they said i look like sabahan O_O, and i sound like sabahan , and im more close to sabahan! LOL. identity crisis lah that time.
U speak BM with an Indon accent like them?
July 13, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Some like it hot… « …Still crazy after all these years!
[...] dish – ladies’ fingers, brinjal, pineapples – and to replace all that, we just threw it some durian flowers that we got from her as [...]
July 13, 2008 at 10:12 pm
anna
used to.i think i easily pick up slang(or whatever that called) witout me knowing it. assimilate lah kunun .now im at semenanjung, my sabahn fren complained that i sound like semenanjugian.. hahaxD
Looks like u can adapt very well to ur environment…
July 15, 2008 at 11:40 am
bongkersz
eh i never try this one.. looks good! wait i go back kampung gather some durian flowers
Where? Sarikei? Next time you come, bring some, ya!!! LOL!!
July 15, 2008 at 2:53 pm
autumnmusic
our durian trees back home already 10++ years, still no fruits yet -_-”’ my mom also got collect and cook the flowers…but nobody eat
My mother-in-law’s tree also! No fruits!…..Aiyor! Are u from Sibu? Just pass the flowers to me then!!! LOL!!! I wonder how she cooks them…..
July 19, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Come and get it… « …Still crazy after all these years!
[...] on July 19, 2008. Filed under: Food, Places | I have mentioned this place before in an earlier post when I bought some umai from there and I said that the kacang ma was [...]
October 15, 2008 at 6:48 am
Where have all the flowers gone (2)… « …Still crazy after all these years!
[...] on October 15, 2008. Filed under: Food | If you may recall, in my previous post under this title, I was talking about durian flowers. Well, it looks like my mother-in-law’s [...]
April 10, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Kampua Talk » Blog Archive » You Don't Bring Me Flowers
[...] cook the durian flowers. My favourite would be cooking it with belacan/sambal udang kering. (Refer here and here for more [...]
April 15, 2009 at 6:44 am
If I only had time… « …Still crazy after all these years!
[...] has been giving us a lot of the durian flowers and if you remember, I had a couple of posts here and here on the ways in which we can cook them – my favourite being frying them with sambal udang [...]