The food: Jetty-Barbecued Fish
Where to find it: Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia
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Water wept from the rusted hatchet and spilled down into the rising tide ten feet below. Beside it I witnessed a fire brewing on a makeshift barbecue crafted from wooden stilts that the chef planted into the seashore.
The Malaysian fisherman manning the grill imparted that this scene paints a picture of his daily evening dinner ritual. Early in the morning he sails out to the islands of southern Sabah to pull up a daily catch. Later that evening he returns home, which stands up on wooden stilts ten feet above sea level—much like most buildings on the tiny, fisherman’s island of Mabul.
Like the rest of us, the Malaysian fisherman adapts to his surrounding environment. In the case of Mabul island, he must adapt to a landlocked ecosystem. Therefore he’s forced to get creative with his terrior1 —his land. So everyone in Mabul constructs their homes, barbecues, etc. above the water on stilts. As a traveler, it’s always fascinating to witness how different cultures adapt to the food environments that surround them.
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Snapshots of Mabul
All of the above photography are screenshots from the upcoming documentary series, TASTE, which features the stories of international food entrepreneurs.
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1 Coming from the French word terre, which means “land,” terroir describes a location’s geography, climate and conditions that affect how plants and food grow. It’s the reason why grapes grow best in the Napa Valley and olives thrive in Greece.