'Daging Masak Hitam Sarawak' With Bario Rice

I received  a tub of  'Masak Hitam ' paste from our famous Sibu blogger , Arthur aka as STP of  Still Crazy After All These Years .....and Claire my buddy lugged it back for me when she went over to Sibu for her holidays.  A big THANK YOU to Arthur for the ' Masak Hitam 'paste and a big HUG for Claire for lugging it back for me :)   I waited until last Saturday to cook it with beef.  This dish  ' Daging Masak Hitam Sarawak ' is a famous dish in Sarawak.  It was so delicious that Piggy Josh ate two big plates of Barios Rice   At the same time I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs.Leong for the Bario Rice.  She is Elaine's mommy. And Elaine is Piggy Josh's friend :)) I will talk about this Bario Rice further down the post !   ' Daging Masak Hitam Sarawak ' with Bario Rice....now you tell me...is this a great combo?   Ask Josh, I am sure he is still thinking of the tender , juicy and well flavored beef and the wonderful texture of the Bario Rice !  Arthur...I finally did justice to your tub of Masak Hitam :)))) it was delicious!  

Don't you look down on this tub of masak hitam paste, it is really good. I just have to add a stalk of lemongrass to it ...that's all and to be frank,  I did not follow the instruction to add 1.5 cups of water  because as I was sauteeing the beef fillets with the paste in the claypot, the meat was giving out its juices, thus I omitted the water totally. After braising it for 45 mins, the meat was tender and juicy and the aroma was good and Josh could not wait to have his dinner .  500g of beef - the best cut from the beef vendor and this magic paste and I have the famous Sibu dish on my table.  Arthur , once again thank you for your thoughts when you bought this for me :)  We all love it and now when I think of Sarawak, I will remember your Masak Hitam and the Bario Rice :))) 

The timing was perfect, Josh brought back a 3 kg bag of Bario Rice....gosh, I have been wanting to try this Bario Rice, heard so much about it,  but never had the chance to do so until Josh lug it back .  You can read more about this rice from Wendy's blog .  Wendy did a good job on the description of this small grain .

This is Wendy's description of Bario Rice
It is
Small, smaller than a regular rice grain by half
White, when raw, looks like glutinous rice. It doesn't look opaque like regular rice grains.
Soft and fluffy, like good quality Tahia fragrant rice, but actually even better
Slightly bouncy, really, when you chew it, you can feel its bounciness
Sticky but not sticky, Like Stick-it Notes. The rice clumps together enough for you to pick it up with chopsticks, but easily separated...It 's not like Thai fragrant rice when it's sticky, it's easily mushy. This is not. Bario rice is firm, soft with a nice stick.

Bario Rice is regarded by the natives of Sarawak as the finest and best rice from the highlands of Sarawak. They are grown on cool climates at an elevation above 1,200 metres. According to the natives, the rice is eaten by the longhouse chief on special occasion. It is regarded as one of the finest rice grains of the world. And good news for health conscious consumers, there is no usage of pesticides and chemical feritlizers na dhas all the attributes of organic rice with an added flavor and unique taste as a result of the cool, pristine and unpolluted environments where it is grown. Bario Rice is specially air-flown out of Bario and Ba'kelalan highlands to enable the rest of Malaysians to sample the finest rice from the Land of the Hornbills.  

Thank you once again Mrs.Leong for your kind generosity in sharing

this Bario Rice with me .Though we have not met yet..but I believe one day

soon we will get to meet up :)

I am going to try making sushi with Bario Rice....I think it will turn out good

Arthur....hope you are not drooling over mine

I know you cook this better than me :))

excuse me...this is my first time cooking Masak Hitam :p

look how juicy and tender the beef pieces had become

after just 45 mins of braising in a claypot...

Josh loves it and asked for more

the Bario rice and Daging Masak Hitam Sarawak

was a hit with the Piggy clan!

Have a nice day !

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