It was just for me and actually, I got it quite a while ago but I had to keep it in the freezer all this time as I had been pretty busy with people coming and going so I did not have time to cook it and besides, we had been eating out quite a lot lately. However, the first opportunity I got, I took the meat out and cooked soup with it the way we would do it in my family (but using the slow cooker, lazy me) and this was the end result…
Now, where did I get this very rare commodity from? An ex-student of mine is now serving at a school upriver as a teacher and he just received the Excellent Service Award. I saw the good news on Facebook and extended my heartiest congratulations and jokingly asked him for a treat to which he replied, “No problem!” A couple of days later , I got word from him that he had managed to get hold of some of this exotic meat and had bought some for me and he would pass it to me when he got back to town.
So was it any good? Ooooo…I must say it was superb, top quality and when you have the meat of this class, you can be sure that the soup would be so fragrant, so flavourful, so delicious! I did manage to get hold of some a few times at the market in Selangau but those had been quite disappointing so I never bothered buying from there again.
Incidentally, when we met at a coffee shop near my house for breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised to see another ex-student of mine with him, a sweet and very nice girl and a tall one too…like him and like him, she is a teacher too. They did say though that they would not be tying the knot just yet, maybe next year, so all the best to the two of you and hopefully, I will get your summons…to join in the happy occasion and thank you so much, Tham, for the meat and also for the breakfast treat. Do get me some more should you come across any that is nice – but of course, the next time around, I would insist on paying for it. It is so hard to get hold of such good ones so I would be most happy and thankful to be able to lay my hands on any at all.
Now, that same day when I cooked this delightful soup, I got word from my friend, Jimmy, in Kuching saying that he had something just for me and he would be sending it over by bus so I would have to go and collect it at the bus terminal the following morning which I did…and I got this…
…very nicely packed item that resembled a tiffin carrier or a handbag perhaps. Good grief! I wonder how long he took to pack the thing so nicely…but that’s Jimmy for you! Always very meticulous, a perfectionist true and true.
Gosh! Opening that was such a task that I was thinking it probably would be much easier breaking into Fort Knox. ROTFL!!! After cutting through the plastic wrapper, I got to a layer of cardboard and I thought that cutting through that, I would get to the thing inside but no, how wrong could I be! There were some more layers of plastic and newspapers…
…that I had to go through before getting to the much coveted treasure enclosed…
No wonder there wasn’t any smell at all on the outside – it was so very tightly sealed that there was absolutely no way out!
So what was it that he sent me? This big tub of the most wonderful tempoyak (fermented durian)…
…that he so painstakingly made himself…
Ahhhhh!!!! Doesn’t that look soooooo good? Absolutely beautiful, don’t you agree? Hmmm…now I have tempoyak of the best quality to cook some of those very delightful tempoyak dishes. Perhaps I can serve them for my Chinese New Year open house this year – in case you do not realise it, it’s just a little bit more than a month away. Anybody would like to drop by? Wink! Wink!
Thank you, thank you, Jimmy!!! I really can’t thank you enough for this…and for everything!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
pos layu some over… dun worry, the longer it takes to deliver, the better it tastes… hahaha…
You want? Come and get it! Btw, I just got some very nice one, cooked…from the boss of Payung! Wangi and spicy and so delicious, will surely eat two plates of rice with that. Slurpsssss!!!!!
Tempoyakkkkkkkkkk…mana ikan patin with cili padi….
Not a fan of patin, don;t like the smell…unless it’s premium Batang Ai one, Annie-Q’s mum knows the supplier. I cook with prawns…was a hit at a recent family reunion party! They all loved it! Come! Come to Sibu, I cook for you all… 😉
You always got all the good stuffs …..! They really sayang you !
They most certainly do and for that, I am most thankful…praise the Lord!
I still have yet to try Durian. I know it has a distinct aroma! HA!! But I know it’s very good for you! We don’t have access to it around my area/region. I know some places on the west coast have them tho! I’m thinking of ordering online freeze dried Durian…have you tried freeze dried chips of Durian before?
Good? I do not think so, have to eat sparingly. It is too heaty – will end up with sire throat, fever and what not and so sweet, will raise one’s sugar level.
Nope, never had it frozen – I do not even eat that a lot fresh but I know a lot of people here do that – freeze the fruit so that they would be able to have durian all year round, otherwise it’s seasonal. I love the fermented ones though, we call it tempoyak.
Never tried the fermented durian before, eat like jam?
Just eat like that, or ulam…or use to cook some really delightful dishes. Some Chinese people, I know, will fry with ikan bilis, chilies and other ingredients – just got some of that from Payung boss – sooooooooo nice! Watch out for my post on it. A friend, Brunei food blogger, just had tempoyak pork in Kuching, first time trying the stuff, and he fell in love with it instantly. I’ve never tried cooking with pork, usually prawns…or fish – gotta try doing that one of these days.
i never really like tempoyak, but after seeing pics here… can i have some?? >.<
Let me know when you come to Sibu, and I’ll dished out some of the tempoyak delights for you. You’ll be converted for sure… 😉
Good morning. Must try your cooking one day. 😉
Come on over…anytime! Most welcome.
Your house will have a very nice fragrant during CNY! Do show us what you have cooked with the tempoyak, I like them too and my malay colleagues brought them before to the office… nice!!
Sure I will. Will definitely cook the tempoyak prawns – well-loved by many…
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/do-that-to-me-one-more-time-2
Say NO!!!!!… to tempoyak. I prefer durian on its own. That was a nice & neatly done packing. It has been ages since I last had wild boar meat at Long Lama.
Then we’re the opposite. Not into durian but I love tempoyak and all durian cakes and desserts. To each his own!
Good morning to big chef!
I must taste your cooking some day. 🙂
No plans for Christmas right now…but I think we will have our usual open house come Chinese New Year, and I will cook something for guests who care to drop by.
ooops! Sorry. Duplication.
Some problem with my line over here this morning. :p
You’re on your phone? Happens ALL the time.
Praise!!! Praise!!! Praise!!! Jimmy is not only good in baking but good in so many items… 🙂
A man for all seasons… 😉
eeeewwwweee!!! no thank you..
Good! That way I can keep it all for myself. Hehehehehehe!!!!
Tried a few tempoyak dishes, didn’t left much impression. I can’t differentiate between masak lemak and masak tempoyak, either they put too little tempoyak or the tempoyak is not of the best quality bah..
But I loooves the sambal tempoyak from a particular store here. Will heaped spoonfuls of it on my plate whenever I eat there.. hahahah.. And always got a surprise expression from the store owner. “Ah Moi tau makan tempoyak?!”. “Tau, bukan saja tau, malah suka sekali!” .. heheh
Must be like the one the Payung boss gave me that night – watch out for the post. Soooooo very nice!
Ya, you will just have to try my tempoyak dishes – I checked out a few recipes, and even tried one. It was all right but all the ingredients, all the serai, kunyit, everything, drowned out the tempoyak so much so that one might as well not bother to add any at all.
Haha lucky you with all these gifts! Christmas sure is the season of giving and receiving 😛
It’s just round the corner… 😉
Nice wild boar meat! It’s usually restaurants who have the sources for it, or people who knows people working in timber camps who hunt for the pigs (or local Dayaks).
Oooh it’s the mysterious delicious durian tempoyak that I missed last CNY! Looks good! 😀
I don’t like how they do it in the restaurants, dunno the right way to cook it. Perfectly ok with not good meat – too young or not fat enough but it is such a waste of meat that is really good, all the fragrance and the flavours all drowned out. Coming back home this CNY? You may be luckier this time around… 😉
Fermented durians?? Hmm no thank you!
Good, good. I can save it all for myself…but everyone who has tried my tempoyak prawns keeps coming back for more, even though they’re not into tempoyak – straight, not at all. Perhaps it’s like those who would not touch a drop of brandy but love it very much in steamed fish. 😉
oh..no no no thank you. Don’t cook this for me. 😛
The wild boar or the tempoyak prawns or both? Served the prawns at my CNY open house earlier this year – gone in no time at all. Everyone loved it and kept going for more and more. Maybe I would not serve this this year – prawns too expensive these days, can’t afford. 😦
omigosh! i’d never have guessed the mystery package contained tempoyak .. and so much of it … i’m actually not a tempoyak fan, so i might run away screaming, hahah 😀
There’s always the first time for everything… Wink! Wink! 😉
I haven’t tried fermented durians before…. not sure if I should feel excited about it LOL!
I’d go for exotic dishes anytime…so this is really my scene. Not for those into Chinese, Japanese…or western, I reckon but they do have their own as well – like smelly tofu, for instance. You would not know unless you try.
Haven’t try tempoyak before too, but I do love durian products.
I don’t like durian but I love tempoyak…and durian desserts are my weakness. Oooo…the Thai durian pulut dessert, like heaven, anytime better than mango!!!
😀 😀 😀 had a good chuckle over that black thing that looked like a bag and lo and behold pops out a jar of tempoyak! No wonder the security was soooo tight 🙂 Was that wild boar meat at the top?
Nope, the meat was from somebody else…
Basically I like to eat durian, love anything with durian favor!!! =]
So you may not quite like tempoyak as it is (I did not either when I was younger) but I’m sure you’d love dishes cooked with it.
Exotic meat and tempoyak? No thank you. You enjoy! 😀
To each his own – I don’t like kim chi or anything cooked with it but I know many love it so much…and I don’t like tau-jhoo (fermented bean curd) as well but I do like some stuff cooked with it.
So carefully packed! Definitely good eye for details!
Indeed!!!