South Koreans have kimchi as a side dish in almost every meal they have. It’s a cultural thing that brings the family and community together. Every family has their own recipe and we often see it as food that represents some sort of love language between conservative family members who don’t display public affection that much. Nowadays, kimchi has become so commercialized thanks to the Hallyu wave making it so readily available at stores in other countries.

In Sarawak, we have umai. It’s a fermented food made from fish, prawns or jellyfish.

My late mother used to make them in large batches to be given to us as a parting gift whenever we come to visit her. Umai is simple to make but can be a tedious process. The ingredients are easily available. You just have to strive for balance.

I tried making umai recently since my siblings came over for Eid. I used ikan tenggiri papan because my brother-in-law said that it is easy to clean and prepare. He learned the recipe from my mother. True enough, two big fish could only harvest a bowl of umai.

After cutting the fish into smaller fillets, I soaked them in water with a splash of vinegar and salt. The fish meat will turn slowly from its raw state to a whitish hue. In the meantime, I prepared its marinating juice. It consists of red chilli, garlic, holland onion, lots of calamansi juice and its skin, sugar and salt to taste. Once they are all mixed together, I store them in the fridge. Ready for consumption anytime. For this first attempt, I noted that my umai needed more salt. I will do better next time.

In fact, I will try to do it more often so that it’ll become my love language to my family members and most importantly, myself.