Ipa' Kayu
A wild leaf of the Bario highlands, worked by hand to draw out its bitterness.
The entry
- Name
- Ipa' Kayu
- Scientific name
- Not yet identified. A photograph or specimen is with the Serumpun team for identification.
- What it is
- A wild leaf of the Bario highlands, worked by hand to draw out its bitterness.
- Knowledge from
- Mina Thrang, Kelabit, of the Bario highlands.
- Shared with Serumpun by
- Mina Thrang
- How it is used
- The leaves are squeezed and twisted to draw out the bitterness, then pounded. Sarawak cooks pair them with salted fish or shrimp paste.
- In the French Borneo kitchen
- In the glaze for the binchō-tan chicken, Course II, Forest, at Osaka. When the tsunami alert cut supplies, it cured the frozen prawns.
- Codex Alimentarius
- No Codex standard
- Medicinal knowledge
- Held privately by the community
- Consent
- Given, recorded by CHASS, 30 October 2026
Still to be confirmed: other names, season and place and conservation status.
Sources
Added to the Codex on 1 November 2026. Sources last checked on 30 October 2026. This ingredient is also told in James Won's words in The Living Pantry.
Anyone may cook with this knowledge, commercially too, provided the community it comes from is credited by name. To correct or withdraw this entry, write to the Custodian at connect@chefjameswon.com.
How to cite this entry
Serumpun Sarawak (2026) ‘Ipa' Kayu’, The Serumpun Codex, ed. James Won. Available at: https://www.chefjameswon.com/serumpun/codex/ipa-kayu/ (sources checked 30 October 2026).
Quote any entry with this citation, and name the community whose knowledge it is.