PRESERVED FOOD

Bosou or Tinamba, which looks like pickle, is a special traditional food of the Dusun ethnic in Ranau, Sabah. There are many types of Bosou like Fish Bosou, Meat Bosou, Jackfruit Bosou, and Vegetable Bosou, and can be eaten as it is just like budu (fermented shrimp) or tempoyak (fermented durian fruit) in West Malaysia.

Bosou is made of the raw flesh of the kepayang (Pangium edule) fish or raw meat mixed with white rice and salt, and fruits like jackfruit and unripe pineapple, as well as vegetables like the young banana trunk, polod (a type of palm tree) shoot, and tuhau (a family of ginger flower). A preservative called 'pangi' is added to prevent Bosou from becoming stale and emanating a foul odor. The ingredients are preserved in a container (normally a small jar) tightly closed for about a week.

The traditional container for preserving Bosou is gourd-shaped covered with beeswax, and ‘kakanan’, a small jar. Nowadays, these traditional containers are replaced with plastic and glass ones.