A FOOD TRADITION
Kadazan-Dusun Cuisine
Kadazan-Dusun cuisine represents interconnected indigenous foodways of Sabah, with variation among Kadazan, Dusun and related communities. Rice is culturally central, accompanied by freshwater fish, pork, chicken, bamboo shoots, wild greens, tubers, fruit and fermented products. Cooking commonly involves boiling, steaming, grilling, smoking, preserving and fermenting, with souring agents and aromatic leaves providing distinctive flavors. Examples include hinava, sinalau bakas and tuhau-based preparations. These foods are tied to local agriculture, rivers, forests and communal festivals, while ingredients and dishes may overlap with neighboring Murut, Bajau and other Bornean traditions.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
Hinava
Kadazan-Dusun raw fish salad cured with lime and mixed with chilli, shallot, ginger and often grated bambangan seed.
Hinompuka
Kadazan-Dusun steamed glutinous-rice cake sweetened with palm or brown sugar and enriched with coconut milk.
Linopot
Leaf-wrapped Kadazan-Dusun rice, sometimes blended with yam or sweet potato, served at celebrations and as part of traditional meal sets.
Pinasakan Sada
Kadazan-Dusun fish simmered down with turmeric, salt and sour takob-akob fruit into a concentrated, keeping dish.
Tuhau Salad
Fresh Kadazan-Dusun salad or relish made from aromatic tuhau pounded with lime, onion and chilli.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.