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Bruneian

Ambuyat with cacah

Non-vegetarian

Ambuyat

Brunei's national dish: a glossy, gluey mass of starch and boiling water, twirled onto bamboo chopsticks and dipped into a sharp, sour chilli sauce (cacah).

Ambuyat with cacah is a Bruneian main course, ready in about 25 minutes and made with tapioca starch and tamarind paste. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of sticky ambuyat sago starch served with dipping sauces and sides
Photo: e_chaya / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
10 min
Total
25 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
273

Ingredients

4 servings

For the ambuyat

For the cacah

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    For the cacah, pound the chillies, shallots (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and toasted shrimp paste (opens in a new tab) to a paste. Stir in the tamarind, lime juice (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), salt and water — it should be thin, sour and hot.

    Spices being ground in a mortar and pestle
    How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    In a large heatproof bowl, stir the starch with the cold water to a smooth slurry.

    • 2 min

  3. Step 3

    Pour the boiling water over in a steady stream while stirring vigorously in one direction. The mixture will suddenly turn translucent and thick like glue; keep stirring until there are no white streaks.

    Food safety: The water must be at a full boil or the starch will not set; take care with splashes.

  4. Step 4

    Serve at once: twirl a mouthful onto chopsticks (candas), dip it in the cacah and swallow without chewing. Eat with side dishes.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Brunei · Well documentedAlso eaten in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan in Malaysia, where it is often called linut.Also popular in MalaysiaMore food from Brunei
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Boiled, No-cook
Taste
sour, spicy (chilli heat), mild
Diet
Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: Flexitarian-friendlyWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Tapioca starch · Tamarind paste · Lime juice · Fresh red chilli · Shallot · Garlic
Techniques
Boiling

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom mackerel
  • Contains: Crustaceansfrom shrimp paste

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

273 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 425 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 2%
  • Carbohydrate 98%
  • Fat 0%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy273 kcal64 kcal
Protein1.3 g0.3 g
Carbohydrate67.7 g15.9 g
Net carbohydrate65.8 g15.5 g
Sugars8.9 g2.1 g
Added sugars1 g0.2 g
Fibre1.9 g0.4 g
Fat0.1 g0 g
Saturated fat0 g0 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium538 mg127 mg
Salt equivalent1.3 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
177 mg
Calcium
65 mg
Iron
1.6 mg
Magnesium
24 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
3 µg
Vitamin C
14 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
14 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: water spinach, mackerel.
  • Tapioca starch: Dry pearl tapioca (FDC 169717) used as a stand-in; both are almost pure cassava starch.
  • Tamarind paste: Raw tamarind pulp (FDC 167763). Commercial concentrates vary in water content.
  • Shrimp paste: Fish sauce (FDC 174531) at 1.5× as a stand-in salted fermented seafood condiment; protein is understated.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • If the starch stays cloudy, the water was not hot enough — microwave the bowl in short bursts, stirring, until clear.

Common mistakes

  • Making it ahead: ambuyat stiffens as it cools and must be eaten straight away.

Serve with

  • Share from one bowl, with stir-fried greens, grilled fish and spicy beef alongside.

Storage

  • Not suitable for storing; the cacah keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Variations

  • Linut (Malaysia): The Sarawak name for the same dish.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Accompaniments

To serve

Used in step 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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