Apparently my readers now range from 16 to 50 years of age. What are you guys doing here? Hehehe. Welcome welcome! Thank you for following my blog. Just a little update here. Will be leaving off to Singapore on the 23rd which is on Friday to visit the zoo (among other things). 😀

So in the mean time, here is a post about one of the fun things I did a few nights ago. Making kelupis!

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Kelupis is, as I’ve discovered, something that is uniquely Bruneian. Posted some pictures of kelupis on my Facebook a few days ago and my friends from Malaysia and Indonesia were very interested! They’ve never seen it before! I was quite surprised because we always have the same foods especially if it’s to do with rice. But then again, I realised that they eat ketupat with their rendang. Hehe. And so inspired me to write out this post.

Kelupis is made out of glutinous rice, that has been semi-cooked in creamy coconut milk and seasoned lightly with salt. Getting just the right amount of coconut milk is something that is usually done by feel depending on how you like your kelupis. Most of the time, the rice used is regular white glutinous rice, but once in a while you can see wild rice being used. I love those!

It is then wrapped in oblong leaf pockets. The kind of leaf used is the daun irik, or the scientific name I believe to be Phacelophrynium maximum. I also believe that the kelupis is the inspiration behind nasi bungkus here in Brunei as the leaf is fold with the exact same way as the brown nasi bungkus paper.

The kelupis is then steamed for about 30 minutes or until the daun irik changes to the lovely deeper and earthier shade of green as above. Wait a while and eat with some beef curry or rendang.

Kelupis is usually made for special functions such as Hari Raya, or wedding high teas, so we only have it once in a while. Rightfully so too, since coconut milk is so fatty! Haha, but as they say, it’s the things that are bad for you that taste the best! 😀

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On the subject of kelupis, I am loving this book! 😀