FabulousFusionFood's Bruneian Recipes Home Page

The flag and emblem of Brunei. The flag of Brunei (left) and the emblem of Brunei (right).
Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Bruneian recipes, part of the Asian continent. This page provides links to all the Bruneian recipes presented on this site, with 14 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Indian recipes added to this site.

These recipes, for the major part, originate in Brunei. Otherwise they are fusion recipes with major Bruneian components.

Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, (Negara Brunei Darussalam in Malay)) is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with its territory bifurcated by the Sarawak district of Limbang. Brunei is the only sovereign state entirely on Borneo; the remainder of the island is divided between its multi-landmass neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. As of 2023, the country had a population of 455,858, of whom approximately 180,000 resided in the capital and largest city of Bandar Seri Begawan. Its official language is Malay and Islam is the state religion of the country, although other religions are nominally tolerated. The government of Brunei is an absolute monarchy ruled by the Sultan, and it implements a fusion of English common law and jurisprudence inspired by Islam, including sharia.

Location of Brunei in South Asia.Location of Brunei in South Asia with a blow up of the precise
location of Brunei shown, inset.
At the Bruneian Empire's peak during the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485–1528), the state is claimed to have had control over the most of Borneo, including modern-day Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the Sulu archipelago and the islands off the northwestern tip of Borneo. There are also claims to its historical control over Seludong, in which Southeast Asian scholars believe the name of the location in question is actually in reference to Mount Selurong, in Indonesia, or Serudong River in eastern Sabah. The maritime state of Brunei was visited by the surviving crew of the Magellan Expedition in 1521, and in 1578 it fought against Spain in the Castilian War.

During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline. The Sultanate ceded Sarawak (Kuching) to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906. After the Japanese occupation during World War II, a new constitution was written in 1959. In 1962, a small armed rebellion against the monarchy which was indirectly related to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation was ended with British assistance and led to the ban of the pro-independent Brunei People's Party. The revolt had also influenced the Sultan's decision not to join the Malaysian Federation while it was being formed. Britain's protectorate over Brunei would eventually end on 1 January 1984, becoming a fully sovereign state.

Brunei has been led by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah since 1967, and the country's unicameral legislature, the Legislative Council, is simply consultative and are all appointed by the Sultan. The country's wealth derives from its extensive petroleum and natural gas fields. Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s has transformed Brunei into an industrialised country, with its GDP increasing 56% between 1999 and 2008. Political stability is maintained by the House of Bolkiah by providing a welfare state for its citizens, with free or significant subsidies in regards to housing, healthcare and education. It ranks 'very high' on the Human Development Index (HDI)—the second-highest among Southeast Asian states after Singapore, which it maintains close relations with including a Currency Interchangeability Agreement. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brunei is ranked ninth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity.

Etymology: According to local historiography, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar, later to be Sultan Muhammad Shah, reigning around AD 1400. He moved from Garang in the Temburong District to the Brunei River estuary, discovering Brunei. According to legend, upon landing he exclaimed, Baru nah (loosely translated as 'that's it!' or 'there'), from which the name 'Brunei' was derived. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei. Before the rise of the Bruneian Empire under the Muslim Bolkiah dynasty, Brunei is believed to have been under Buddhist rulers.

It was renamed 'Barunai' in the 14th century, possibly influenced by the Sanskrit word 'varuṇ' (वरुण), meaning 'seafarers'. The word 'Borneo' is of the same origin. In the country's full name, Negara Brunei Darussalam, darussalam (Arabic: دار السلام) means 'abode of peace', while negara means 'country' in Malay. A shortened version of the Malay official name, 'Brunei Darussalam', has also entered common usage, particularly in official contexts, and is present in the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names geographical database, as well as the official ASEAN[26] and Commonwealth listings.

Brunei Cuisine:

Bruneian cuisine is similar to, and heavily influenced by the cuisine of neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, with additional influences from India, China, Thailand, and Japan. As is common in the region, fish and rice are staple foods, though beef is expensive and thus less common. Due to the predominance of the Islamic religion, the food is halal and pork is avoided. Alcohol is banned in Brunei. In rural areas, game animals such as wild birds, sambar deer, and barking deer are hunted.

Dishes from Brunei are often spicy and are commonly eaten with either rice or noodles. Nasi Katok, Beef rendang, nasi lemak, and pajeri nanas are popular foods in Brunei. Among the few dishes peculiar to Brunei is ambuyat, a sticky ball of flavourless sago starch, which is wrapped around a bamboo fork and dipped into a spicy and sour gravy. Nasi katok, which literally means 'knock rice', consists of plain rice, fried chicken and sambal, a spicy relish made from ground chilli peppers and a variety of secondary ingredients, including shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, lime juice, vinegar, and anchovies. Traditionally, Nasi katok is served and wrapped in brown paper.





The alphabetical list of all Bruneian recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 14 recipes in total:

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Ambuyat Tempoyak
     Origin: Brunei
Bubur Ketan Hitam
(Black Rice Pudding)
     Origin: Brunei
Mangoes with Sticky Coconut Rice
     Origin: Brunei
Beriani
     Origin: Brunei
Es Cendol
(Cold Dessert)
     Origin: Brunei
Rujak Brunei
(Spiced Fruit Salad)
     Origin: Brunei
Brunei Cutlets
     Origin: Brunei
Getuk Lindri
(Coconut Steamed Cassava Cake)
     Origin: Brunei
Terong Belado
(Spicy Aubergine)
     Origin: Brunei
Brunei Murtabak
(Meat Rotis)
     Origin: Brunei
Khao Man
(Coconut Rice)
     Origin: Brunei
Urap
(Steamed Vegetables with Coconut)
     Origin: Brunei
Brunei Satay
     Origin: Brunei
Kue Mangkok
(Brunei cupcakes)
     Origin: Brunei

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