Durian Bingka

We bought about 10kg of durian the other day during our recent trip to Tenom. Yes, we have to hurry because the durian does not wait for anyone. Durians are going to drop whenever they’re ready and it’s we who have to make the effort to get ourselves to the right place at the right time. They’re sold as cheap as RM5 per kg. Isn’t that crazy? They’re many different types of durian so you’ll need to work a little harder to judge the durians yourself in order to find a good one. After you have made your pick then don’t be scared to haggle because the vendors actually expect you to make an offer countering the price they just made up for you. Many people find haggling intimidating but not Hub.

One thing that's good about staying at the Perkasa Hotel is that I did not find those big signs on the walls with the red X through a durian. It means that they actually don’t care if you bring durians into your room or not.

After we’ve done stuffing our faces with durian, they’re still about 6kg left. So, I guess it’s time to make something with them.

Durian Bingka

Adapted from Yatiememories

Ingredients

3 whole eggs

1 cup thick coconut milk

2¼ cup water

2 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp butter / margarine

1 – 1½ cup durian flesh

Egg yellow food colouring

Sesame seeds

Directions

Lightly grease a muffin tray with veg oil. Preheat oven to 200⁰C. Preheat the prepared tray in the oven while it heats up.

Blend together the eggs, coconut milk, water, flour, sugar, salt and butter / margarine until smooth.

Add in the durian flesh and a few drops of egg yellow food colouring. Continue to blend until well incorporated.

Carefully take out the prepared tray from the oven and put it on the counter. Pour the batter into the tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds over it.

Bake for 40 minutes until the top develops a lovely golden-brown hue.

Transfer onto rack to cool.

Belunu or Bundu

It is the fruit heaven again in Sabah currently. Fruiting season is usually between July to September and December to January. This is when the village folk get to earn extra for selling durian, rambutan, langsat, mangosteen and jackfruit.

In this corner of the world, we call this fruit, belunu or bundu. I bought this in Tenom that day. Bought three and gave one to my sister. OMG...this is my favourite fruit!

This very hard to find and the most sought-after fruit looks like mango but tastes like soursop. It is very sweet, juicy and fleshy. This indigenous fruit is in season from December until January.

It is native to Sabah just like bambangan. We also have a few belunu trees behind my mother’s house. In fact, my village was named after this fruit.  But sadly, after an absurd family dispute a few years ago, the trees just stop to bear fruit anymore. The belunu tree can grow really tall.  Do be careful though because if you eat it too much, you might get a slight ‘kick’ out of it. We prefer to eat it when the flesh is still hard. Belunu tree is a very heavy bearer and a single tree can produce hundreds of fruits. For those who never try it, do give it a shot.