Hinava
HalalSabah's indigenous raw fish salad where fresh mackerel is 'cooked' by citrus acid alone — sliced thin and cured in lime juice with bird's eye chili, ginger, shallots, and grated bambangan seed. A Kadazan-Dusun heritage dish that parallels Latin American ceviche but uses endemic Bornean botanicals.
Difficulty
easy
Prep Time
30 min
Ingredients
- mackerel (tenggiri)
- lime juice
- bird's eye chili
- ginger
- shallots
- bambangan seed
- salt
Variations
- hinava sada (plain)
- hinava ginapan (fermented)
- hinava with wild mango
Did You Know
The bambangan — a wild brown mango found only in Borneo's jungles — gives hinava its signature earthy, astringent flavour. No other ceviche-style dish anywhere in the world uses this ingredient.
Nutrition Facts
1 serving (150g)
% Daily Value based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are estimates.
More Like This
Keropok Lekor
310kcalChewy fish sausage-like snack from Terengganu, made from fresh fish and sago flour, deep-fried until golden. Served with sweet chili sauce for dipping.
snack · street-food · iconic
Cucur Udang
280kcalSavory prawn fritters made from a spiced batter with whole prawns, bean sprouts, and spring onions, deep-fried until crispy. A popular teatime snack across Malaysia.
snack · teatime · street-food
Popiah
260kcalFresh (unfried) spring rolls filled with jicama (bangkuang), carrots, tofu, egg, lettuce, bean sprouts, and a sweet sauce, all wrapped in a thin wheat skin. A Hokkien/Teochew heritage dish.
snack · street-food · healthy
Manuk Pansuh
310kcalSarawak's iconic Iban and Bidayuh bamboo-cooked chicken. Marinated meat is stuffed into a fresh bamboo stalk with lemongrass, ginger, and native bungkang leaves, then sealed with tapioca leaves and slow-roasted over an open fire. No oil or water is added — the chicken steams in its own juices and the sweet sap of the bamboo.
indigenous · sarawak · gawai