When the durian season is nearly over, Sarawakians will have another treat of wild nuts from the Padawan mountain. The Bokuop nut, so named by the Sarawak Bidayuh, is available at RM10 a kilo. Here our fruit seller is very helpful, cracking open the nut and selling it to curious onlookers.
The nut tastes better by boiling it in water, a native way of treating jungle produce. This is to remove any anti-nutritional elements in any jungle produce. The nut is edible with a taste similar to the cempedak seed,
This nut is unknown to many people but the Bidayuh in Bau and Serian districts had been consuming it for centuries, cultivating this fruit tree in their open country homes.
The bokuop fruit hangs on the branches like the rambutans and hog plum in bunches.
A ripe fruit is picked up when it falls to the ground.
The bokuop looks creamy white with the surface of the peanut. When cracked open with a hard object, there is a brown protective shell which hides two black shells. The nuts are inside the black shells.
This nut produce is available only once a year to mark the end of the durian season in December 2013.
