My missus and my daughter went to some event at the church sometime ago – I think there was a food fair and jumble sale or something and some guy had a terung dayak (lakia kio) seedling. They wanted to buy from him but he said he would just give it to them. According to him, it might or might not grow and even if it did, it might not bear fruit at all.
They took it home and planted it and yes, it grew and it grew and the other day, I saw that there were a lot of fruits on it, some of them already yellow (ripening)…
I took the above photograph and shared it on Facebook and it attracted a lot of comments. Some said that they tried planting it but it never grew or did not grow well. Others said that it did but died eventually while there were some who said that theirs never bore any fruit. One added that they fetch a very good price at the market these days and indeed, it has been like that for some time now – not easily available and quite expensive!
Needless to say, my missus was immensely pleased that her effort had not been in vain. They’re…
…God’s gifts, she kept repeating!
Also known as the terung assam, it is related to the brinjal or eggplant family even though it seems to resemble a tomato a lot more and it is supposed to be sour. Unfortunately, some of those that we buy from the market these days are not – according to one seller, it is because of the overuse or abuse of fertilisers.
The easiest way to cook it would be to boil some ikan bilis (dried anchovies), a bit of belacan (dried prawn paste) and a chilli or two in water. Simmer to let the taste and fragrance come out of the aforementioned ingredients before throwing in the terung Dayak, cut into wedges like this…
I’ve been told not to remove the seeds – I think they said that is where the sourish taste and richness come from. Continue simmering till soft and the skin has come off a bit at the edges and it is done. There is no need to add any salt or msg as the anchovies and belacan would be salty and would have enough of that coveted umami taste.
In place of the anchovies or in addition to them, you may wish to add a few prawns, preferably our freshwater udang galah (giant prawns), or a fish or two, perhaps…
That will surely bring the taste to a whole new level. The serai (lemon grass) is optional – you may want to throw that in for the added fragrance. Some folks like cooking them with smoked dried fish (salai ikan) too…
*At the Lepau (ethnic) Restaurant in Kuching*
– I, for one, do not mind eating it like that but I am not all that fond of the burnt/smoked smell of the dried fish.
In the meantime, my missus also has a lot of vegetables in our garden and she also harvested these…
…that morning. It sure is nice to be able to enjoy the fruits of one’s labour, don’t you think?
STOP PRESS:
Extra! Extra!
We gave two to a friend and I guess she cooked them more or less the same way as I have described above – with fish and she quickly sent word to me, sounding very delighted and excited, with this gorgeous photograph attached…
*Friend’s snapshot forwarded via Facebook*
…to let us know that they were really very good, very sour and very nice.
I told my missus that and she quickly cooked some…
…for our soup dish and indeed, we loved it so much! So sour, no need to resort to adding asam keping like what we often had to in the past when cooking the ones we bought from the market.
We are certainly looking forward to harvesting more of the fruits so we can cook and enjoy them to the max!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I like lakio kio cooked the way you did. Simple and yet delicious. Totally agree, these days lakia kio are not sourish at all and everytime I cook I need to add asam keping to make it sourish. Like you say, one should not remove the seeds when boiling soup for that is the part where the sourish come from. I also heard of it but how true is that. These lakia kio aren’t cheap at all, RM15-16/kg. A lot of blessing from your garden.
Truly blessed!!! RM15-16 a kilo? Wowwwwwww!!!! I bought before the pandemic, RM5 a kilo, quite easy to get at Selangau market…those days when my girl was teaching there.
The simplest recipe with anchovies. My favourite too. Used not to like it as small kid but as I grow older, my taste also change and like to try those dishes that I don’t fancy in the past. Terung assam is one of them.
I saw some in the mini mart that I often patronised. Didn’t buy because kids don’t take it. So, only me eat so I didn’t buy. Maybe will see if I can find any when go to market in kenyalang tomorrow. Ages since I go to Kenyalang market. A morning breakfast date and meet up with my parents and an uncle in hawker centre tomorrow morning.
We did not eat it so often in our growing up years, maybe my father was not a fan. My mum would cook a bit for herself, simple with ikan bilis and belacan but she enjoyed the terung dipped in her own-pounded sambal belacan.
I’m growing an avocado plant for the last… 4+ years now and it’s still tiny. lol I can only dream.
I had one that sprouted out on its own. Then somebody sent me a photograph of his tree – SO BIG!!! In the end, I got rid of mine. Heard that he did get a few fruits from his tree after many many years and they were really good…but once only! Dunno why.
I’d love to try it. They do look a lot like tomatoes.
Very sour but very nice. I love it!