By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Feb 4: ‘Daun buan’ are the leaves of the ‘buan’ or ‘simpoh air’ tree, a dillenia suffruticosa species.
The tree is commonly found in the wild and secondary forests of Sarawak.
Many rural folk still use ‘daun buan’ as a handy container or wrapper while foraging or hunting in the jungle, as mature leaves span about a foot in length and about five to six inches in width.
The big leaves can be folded and pinned to form rudimentary containers or wrappers to cook dishes over a fire—useful when there are no bamboo culms to be found.
The leaves also can used to scoop water from streams or small rivers if you are thirsty. One could use buan tree branches and leaves make the roof of a shelter to provide shade or keep dry from the rain.
Young buan leaves are edible and have a tangy flavour.
Rural folks still forage for these huge leaves to use as aromatic natural wrappers for meat, fish, and wild vegetable dishes. The aroma imparted by the leaves into the food can boost appetite.
They also forage for young buan leaves and eat them raw, ideally with a dip like ‘sambal belacan’.
During this writer’s school days in the 70s, canteen operators used ‘buan’ leaves as food wrappers for noodles like ‘mee goreng’ and ‘bee hoon goreng’. Recalling the taste of canteen food wrapped in ‘buan’ leaves created a swell of nostalgia within this writer.
According to certain old Iban beliefs and tales, the buan tree’s leaves, fruits and bright yellow flowers were the favourite foods of mousedeer and tortoises.
This, if the buan tree is plentiful, there are bound to be many of these two earthly creatures roaming in the vicinity enjoying their favourite foods.
These days, the buan tree is also plentiful and easy to spot along the roadside in Kuching City.
So the next time you think of natural utensils or fancy adding some aroma to your dishes, why not try it with ‘daun buan’? — DayakDaily
