Brunei

The whole name of this country is Negara Brunei Darussalam and is located on one of the largest islands in the world – Borneo. It consists of two disconnected parts, separated from the territory of Malaysia. It is ruled by the Sultan and owes its wealth to the large deposits of oil in its shelf. At the moment, Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah is at the moment, whose personality is quite controversial over time. His name is associated with lavish parties that occasionally feature world stars such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. It is not uncommon for him to play polo with Prince Charles. He owns the largest private mansion with 1788 rooms, 257 bathrooms and air-conditioned stables for 200 polo ponies. He owns several rare Lamborghini cars, 500 Rolls Royce cars and even F1 cars. The total number of Sultan cars is 2500. They include other brands such as Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin. For his 50th birthday party, 3000 people are invited and the total cost of the coupon is $ 25 million, but what is this money against the $ 20 billion that is in his account! He has long topped the richest man on the planet before being dethroned by Bill Gates. The Sultan of Brunei in our country has become a landmark for a particularly rich man.

Although recently he has been trying to direct his country to a more conservative Islam his harem has been legendary. Enchanted actresses and miss become part of the harem and have difficulty gaining their freedom. They tell the court and write books about the debauchery and morals that roam the Sultan’s palace, but all remains without consequence. The court closes its eyes and books are banned in Brunei. In practice, no one can criticize and oppose Hasanal Bolkiah. Or else the Sultan officially has “only” three women.

At the mouth of the Brunei River is the capital Bendar Seri Begawan, within which is the largest water settlement in the world – Kampong Ayer (about 10% of the country’s population lives in it – over 35,000 people). Everything is in the water – houses, shops, pubs, schools, mosques, small galleries and museums … In recent years new modern water dwellings have been built, situated on concrete columns, but retaining the style of the village. Inside the homes there is everything that is also found in ordinary homes on land – electricity, water, gas. Many of them have small potted gardens, cats and dogs roaming around in the sun, cages with birds and other pets. Many of the residents of the settlement have their own boats, but also prestigious cars, which are parked in special parking lots on land.

Usually the Brunei family has 4 – 5 children. The Brunei are predominantly of Malay descent, native to the interior of Kalimantan – dykes, Chinese and more. The official languages are English and Malay. The country is predominantly Islamic (Sunni), but there are Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Taoists, Confucians, local beliefs and more. Education is completely free and people’s literacy is over 94%. Teachers are particularly honored – today (September 23) is Teacher’s Day. Health and medical care, as well as the use of sports facilities and attendance at cultural events, are free of charge. There are other benefits – reduced workweek, high salaries (especially for civil servants). Few countries in the world can boast of such social achievements. But few countries can boast such resources and wealth.

Oil and gas exports account for over 95% of the country’s financial revenues. Agriculture is underdeveloped – rice, coconut, bananas, mangoes, rubberwood, cocoa, butter are grown, but almost 80% of the food is imported. Interestingly, Brunei owns territory in Australia that is larger in size than the country itself. Livestock are raised there and transported alive to the Sultan so that people always have fresh meat. The sultan also bought land in Thailand where the rice supplies came from. An interesting and unconventional solution. If a Brunei resident wants to develop a business venture, he or she sends a request to the Sultan, which duly describes what kind of funds he or she needs. After a certain period of time he receives a reply and, accordingly, the necessary funds, which were granted to him free of charge by the Sultan. With the exception of fishing, which has been a part of the population’s livelihood for centuries, others prefer the civil service to the Sultan because it carries privileges and all kinds of bonuses.

Brunei’s cuisine is quite similar to Malaysian, which is normal – rice with fried eggs, lentil soup with many spices, hot fish stew, chicken masala and nan. All dishes influenced by Indian cuisine. The main product is rice – it is steamed, boiled in broth, fried with various vegetables, stewed in coconut milk. It is served both to the main course and to the dessert, when fruits are added to it, most often bananas. A traditional Brunei dish is considered a mixture of rice and cooked green beans with rich sauces added to them, which is served as an addition to many dishes. One of the most typical local vegetables is the “long bean” (Vigna sinensis), which is up to 3 meters long and has a thin edible pod. It is used for curries and many other dishes.

For you I will prepare the only cake I have found for this country – Malaya caramel cake. It is particularly popular not only in Brunei but also in Malaysia and Indonesia. Here are the products you need:

250 grams of sugar

250 ml of water

100 grams of butter

250 grams of flour

160-180 grams of condensed milk

6 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda or baking powder

For butter cream:

250 grams of butter

250 grams of mascarpone

125 grams of powdered sugar

Steps of preparation:

Caramelize the sugar by placing it in a pan and stirring with a wooden bottle until the color is dark. Do not use a wooden spoon or stirrer as its surface is large and the sugar crystallizes.

Once you get the color you want, add the water spoon by spoon and mix. Add the butter too. When the liquid becomes homogeneous, remove from the hotplate and add the sifted flour. Stir well until fully absorbed. Finally add the beaten eggs, condensed milk and baking powder.

Use a 20-22 cm tray that is covered with baking paper. Pour the finished mixture and let it rest in the cold oven for 30-40 minutes. Then bake for one hour or until cooked at 150 degrees. It took me over an hour.

During this time, prepare the cream. Beat the butter with powdered sugar until fluffy and finally add the mascarpone. Do not over mix with a mixer, but stir with a spoon until homogeneous. You can color the cream with a pastry dye like I did, and you can leave it white. It depends what you want to do. I was excited about the coming fall and colored the cream in her colors. I tried to recreate a meadow with autumn leaves on the cake. It got a little abstract, but I can do it so much. 🙂

Once the swamps are completely cooled you can add the cream. You could cut it in two and put some cream inside, but I only put it on top. The texture of the cake itself is like a sponge. Maybe it would have been good a decoration like SpongeBob. 🙂 For the first time I get such a cake texture. And although it looks dry, it is actually quite juicy. Combined with butter cream, it is even more delicious. This cream was not in the original recipe, but I read that decorating it is very popular in the cuisine of these Asian countries (Malaysia and Brunei) and decided to add it. Initially, I wanted to make a lot of flowers on the cake (again a traditional decoration for these two countries), but then something disappeared with my enthusiasm and I promise about the cake from Malaysia to correct this gap. Honestly 😉

In general, cake is not something special. It is unpretentious and is perfect for your afternoon coffee. But on the Asian side, rich in fresh fruit all year round, so much. I have come to terms with this challenge that sometimes the cakes I will make will be more ordinary. I do what is characteristic of the country, and sometimes I have only one option. So don’t criticize me much for the simpler cakes. I would like everyone to be a masterpiece, but the practice so far shows that great cakes are made in Europe. And the world is so big and colorful. The culinary traditions are different, but it does not make them any less interesting, and who knows who any tribe from unknown or wild country may have some hidden culinary jewel to discover for themselves and you. Only time will tell…

Next destination – Bouvet Island.