{"id":117,"date":"2021-11-23T20:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=117"},"modified":"2023-10-17T17:30:25","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T09:30:25","slug":"sabah-wine-tapai-lihing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/sabah-wine-tapai-lihing\/","title":{"rendered":"Tapai and Lihing, the Rice Wines of Sabah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rice is the staple food of Sabah people. And Tapai, the most iconic Sabah wine, is brewed from rice too. Tapai is more than just an alcoholic drink. It’s a glue that connects Sabahans from different ethnicity, and Rice is for our stomach and Tapai is for our soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rice<\/a>
Sabah rice wine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Spiritual Drink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When North Borneo (now Sabah) was ruled by British, some westerners lost their heads for not respecting the local drinking culture. In 1913, British imposed Tapai tax on Murut people, on top of forced labour and various other taxes. The Murut people were fuming. First time ever in Sabah history, Murut from Keningau, Tenom dan Pensiangan united to form a Murut Nation led by Ontoros Antanom<\/a>, who crushed the British forces with his nearly 1,000 headhunting warriors until 1915.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Murut<\/a>
Murut (means People of the Hill) is the third largest indigenous group of Sabah. They are fearsome headhunters in the past. Murut warriors are skillful in using blowpipe (with poison dart), spears and machete.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A research paper from The National University of Malaysia (UKM) explains the causes well. Here is an excerpt from the paper:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat the British failed to realise was the social significance of drinking. It was essential in all types of ceremonies such as birth, death, the harvest festival, weddings, house building, settling feuds, honouring guest etc. For this reason, the native liquor tax can be seen as an infringement of Murut social life… their (Murut) main grievances were the taxes on tapai and the ladang tax for felling of jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Callistus Fernandez, \u201cContesting Colonial Discourse: Rewriting Murut History of Resistance in British North Borneo from 1881 to 1915\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kadazandusun people, the largest indigenous group of Sabah, believe that there is a spirit named Bambarayon<\/em>, who dwells in paddy and its well-being is critical for a bountiful harvest. The making and drinking of Tapai comes with many ritualistic practices, to show respect to Bambarayon<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tourist
Tourist and native girl enjoy tapai in a bamboo cup (suki<\/em>). No more war.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When a Sabahan looks at you, touches his throat lightly with finger tips, as if he is having a sore throat, and says Haus<\/em> (Thirsty), he is signaling for a drink in a playful way. You can respond by saying Aramaiti<\/em>, a verb or noun which means drink happily together or to drink until our faces are red.<\/strong> The “drink” can be beer, tapai, and other alcoholic drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Types and Taste of Tapai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tapai is a collective term for many wines in Sabah. Though Tapai is commonly translated as rice wine, other food materials such as tapioca and pineapple are used in place of rice too. Every Sabah ethnic groups and districts may have their own version of Tapai because of different ingredients. For example, a bit of tobacco shreds or cinnamon powder would be added to give Tapai a special flavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"3<\/a>
Aramaiti brings us closer together. At the left is the wine jar. Sabahans store Tapai in jars instead of barrels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rice wine has many names such as tapai<\/em>, talak<\/em>, lihing<\/em>, linutau<\/em>, kinopasa<\/em> and kinupi<\/em>. The wines brewed from tubers of cassava (tapioca) are called montoku<\/em> (potent!) or kinomulok<\/em>. The coconut flower stems can produce pinkish sap that is famous for making tuak<\/em>, toddy<\/em> or bahar<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lihing<\/a>
Lihing (left) and Tapai (right) are the most well-known rice wine of Sabah.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tapai varies in tastes such as bitter sweet, sour, sour sweet and plain. Tapai with bitter sweet taste is considered the best quality<\/strong>, and plain taste is the worst. Tapai is rich in carbohydrates, polysaccharides and alcohol. Generally Tapai is quite potent, with alcoholic contents ranges from 0.05 to 50%, sometimes even up to 70%, so it can knock out a lightweight drinker fairly quick. In my experience, never mix Tapai with beer, unless you have a bed to fall onto, right after a swift black out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tumpung<\/a>
Tumpung<\/em>, another type of rice wine, which uses regular cooked white rice and simpler to make. To drink, just add water and sip the liquid with a straw.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, Tapai is brewed and stored in ceramic jars, the highly priced assets that are treated as symbol of wealth and valuable bride price in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lihing Vs Tapai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lihing is the most popular type of Tapai.<\/strong> Both Tapai and Lihing are brewed with the similar methods. Glutinous rice (sticky rice) is used in brewing Lihing, and Tapai uses normal and brown rice. The key difference between Tapai and Lihing is – Lihing has the sediments (rice and yeast particles) segregated from Tapai, so Lihing is more refined and appears as a translucent and beautiful amber liquid (it turns dark when aged, even better). In contrast, Tapai is cloudy due to its residues. Lihing is also fermented for long time (two or more months).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Meme
\u201cLiving is a Blessing when Lihing is the Answer.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, Tapai is a raw wine stored and served in jar, mainly for self-consumption, while Lihing is more marketable and better for preservation. Same as Tapai, Lihing can be made from rice, tapioca or pineapple. In fact, Lihing is also widely used in cooking of some delicious dishes such as Lihing Chicken and Drunken Crabs. Adding Lihing to Tuaran Fried Noodle<\/a> also enhances its aroma. You can even make Lihing Ice-Cream<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lihing<\/a>
Lihing noodle soup (\u9ec4\u9152\u9762\u7ebf), only available in a few Chinese coffee shops such as Seng Hing Coffee Shop in Sinsuran of Kota Kinabalu City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are a few Sabah entrepreneurs who are really passionate about making top quality Lihing, and they want Lihing to evolve and walk out of “kampung” (village) to become a household brand. Look at the line-up of Lihing below. You will be impressed to see how creative the Lihing products can be! (This is not a sponsored post)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Lihing Nilyn<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lihing Nilyn is a homemade rice wine brand originated from Penampang. Ms. Honilin Pudin, the founder of Lihing Nilyn, has been making Lihing for over 50 years, using the traditional methods inherited from her grandparents. I like the classy bottling and Sumazau dancers label of Lihing Nilyn, which make it a very presentable souvenir or gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lihing<\/a>
Lihing Nilyn in nice bottles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Website:<\/strong> neomarketingsb.weebly.com<\/a>
E-mail:<\/strong> lihingnilyn@yahoo.com<\/a>, neomarketingsb@gmail.com<\/a>
Phone No.:<\/strong> +60 12-8311440<\/a> (Marina)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lihing
Have you ever tried Lihing Cocktail?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Haus of Lihing (HOL)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eve June, from Papar, initiated HOL in Kuala Lumpur then slowly branching to Sabah in July 2020. And now she is looking forward to set up a production centre in Phuket, Thailand. The Lihing of HOL is pure rice wine without added sugar and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Classic<\/a>
Classic and herb Lihing by Haus of Lihing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Besides classic Lihing, HOL also creates Lihing that contains herb such as ginger, cinnamon, ginseng, komburongoh, tongkat ali or kacip fatimah to boost its health value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Premium<\/a>
Premium Lihing by Haus of Lihing. Vagas means Rice in Dusun language. They say it can improve your dance moves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HOL also invests in R&D on production of premium Lihing by standardizing the quality factors such as fermentation time, type of yeasts, stringent hygiene, controlled temperature and quality measurement, under the guide of champion Lihing guru. HOL is also in the midst of building an education center to promote Sabah rice wines in Kuala Lumpur. This centre will be the only research centre where visitors can learn about Sabah rice wine, and have a taste of the 7 wonders of Lihing at the end of the tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook:<\/strong> borneolihing<\/a>
Instagram:<\/strong> borneospirits<\/a>
E-mail:<\/strong> hausoflihing@gmail.com<\/a>
Whatsapp<\/strong> & Phone:<\/strong> +60 12-8219835<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Kasarahan Lihing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“Kasarahan” is a Dusun word which means reminiscing or thinking back to the old days. You know red wine goes well with certain meat. Many years ago, I discovered that chilled Lihing and fruits make a yummy combo. Therefore, I’m so delighted to find that fruity Lihing does exist. I tried the mango Lihing from Kasarahan and really like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lihing<\/a>
Lihing in different fruit flavours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The available fruit flavours are rambutan, mango, banana, grapes, pineapple, apple, and soursop. These Lihing are fermented from real fruits, which requires different brewing techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lihing<\/a>
Lihing of Kasarahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Facebook:<\/strong> KasarahanLihingIX<\/a>
E-mail:<\/strong> kasarahanproduct@gmail.com<\/a>
Whatsapp No.:<\/strong> +60 19-8628981<\/a>
Instagram:<\/strong> kasarahan_lihing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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