Wadi Wawui｜Central Kalimantan

Part 6/38 in a series exploring one dish from each province of Indonesia.

This fermenting process, wadi, is common in the Banjar and various Dayak ethnic groups, used for both fish and wild boar (wawui). This version is, apparently, typical of the Dayak Manyaan people, but this whole thing varies a lot between sources: some use a sugar wash step, some use chopped garlic during the fermentation, but the key thing seems to be the sa’mu, the use of ground roasted glutinous rice.

As far as I can tell the recommended ratio of sa’mu to rice is either 1:1 or 1:2, so I’ve gone for the higher salt version to ensure the fermentation is safe. The general advice seems to be a 10:1 ratio of meat to the sa’mu/salt mixture.

Really the star here is this fermented pork. The recipe on the end is incidental really, and is just a typical way of using it in a meal.

Adapted from here.

☒ UNTESTED

Ingredients

• 1 kg gammon, large dice (if you can’t get gammon, just use pork and brine for 24 hours)
• 65g coarse salt
• 35g glutinous rice
• 3 Indonesian onions (1.5 shallots)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 sticks of lemongrass, bruised
• ___ ml water

Prep

Roast the rice until golden brown, then coarsely grind and mix with the salt.

Mix this with the gammon until completely coated.

Put in an airtight container for at least a week.

Cooking

Fry the onion and garlic until soft and starting to slightly brown.

Add the pork, simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add lemongrass and water, simmer until the pork is soft.