This is the famous wild fern of Sarawak…midin. Anyone who comes to Kuching must try this local dish. Usually fried with belacan chilli or sambal belacan. The other favourite way of cooking it is fried with just garlic or add a bit of red wine.
Now tell me is there a different between these two midin? Well, picture below is extracted from a New Zealand website. It’s called pikopiko in Kiwi land. So Sarawakians in NZ don’t despair you have midin at your backyard too!
The New Zealanders eat their pikopiko as salad or cook in stew. Anyone in Sarawak care to try that with our midin? I do know midin can be eaten slightly blanched then add in julienne shallots, chilli and squeeze of lime. That’s as raw as I can go. WOW! I’m hungry already… 😉
Mysarawak's Travelogue 
June 19, 2008 at 12:01 pm
wah.. i love midin.. hmmm i want to go home… 🙂
June 19, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Hi Bisayaboy,
Home will always be here waiting for you… and lots of midin belacan too..
cheers! 🙂
June 20, 2008 at 9:46 pm
midin is actually bad for health. i read sumwhere lah
June 24, 2008 at 11:12 pm
‘midin is actually bad for health. i read sumwhere lah’
You got that from Wikipedia?
‘Midin also contains vitamin A (beta karotene) which is important for eyesight and prevents rabun malam (night blindness) and is high in fibre which helps keep the intestine healthy and prevents constipation.’
‘It is rich in iron which prevents anemia (low red blood count).’
http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=27262
‘midin fern, a popular delicacy which is pesticide-free. ‘
http://www.mymalaysia.com.my/Tourism/p2_articleid/16
Mmm sounds very ‘bad for health’ eh? :S
January 21, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Hai My Malaysia….I am interested in your statement about benefit of midin…
‘Midin also contains vitamin A (beta karotene) which is important for eyesight and prevents rabun malam (night blindness) and is high in fibre which helps keep the intestine healthy and prevents constipation.’
‘It is rich in iron which prevents anemia (low red blood count).’
-I try to open the link borneopost that you attach but couldn’t open it. can you help me?
January 21, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Hi Mirian,
The link to Borneo Post online article has been taken out recently because BP online version only keeps a 2-year archive.
Sorry.
July 25, 2011 at 9:30 pm
I also read that regular consumption of midin increases the risk of stomach cancer. Cannot find a source now, but had confirmation from a botanist when I was researching if there were similar edible plants in Australia.
July 25, 2011 at 10:55 pm
hmmm… maybe now the price of midin might come down so I can enjoy more of it 🙂 hey, I only live once and midin will be my last meal.
Thanks Matt 😀
Cheers!!
June 25, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I just died..I miss HOME!!!!!!!
June 25, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hi Shazza,
Don’t die yet!! I’ll bring ‘home’ to you the best I can.
By the way, I just had midin fried with belacan for lunch! Hahaha… 😉
Cheers!!
December 5, 2008 at 10:28 pm
[…] much-needed directions and delicious noodles. The food is Chinese with a twist – exotic belacan midin, kam pua noodles, belacan beehoon with thick slices of cuttlefish, and guang bing or “kong […]
June 30, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Try blanched midin with sambal. I prefer the Indonesian variety of samabl, that is with a little toasted tomato in it.
July 1, 2009 at 12:08 am
Frankly speaking, I don’t know how an Indonesian sambal tastes like. The other day I ate blanched paku with peanut + coconut milk (santan) sauce – something like satay sauce but more watery. WOW! Very nice and spicy 😉
October 18, 2009 at 9:09 am
I have jz been to Kuching, I love the noodle (kolo mee)^^ as well as this midin…can we find midin in West Malaysia?
January 28, 2010 at 2:34 am
I teach college kids about ferns. When I saw these pics of ferns I almost salivated! I love eating ferns, paku or midin. I grew up in Kuching (3rd Mile area). I used to pick ferns for food and sale in the 50s. A bundle which sells for 2 ringgit now sold for 5 cents then!!
January 28, 2010 at 11:20 am
Those were the good old days, Jim! 🙂
January 29, 2010 at 2:37 am
Yann, I was on a bus travelling from Singapore to Malacca in the 80s. I saw lots of midin along the highway. I’m sure midin still grows there as in many parts of SEA.
January 31, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Jim….those were midin? I see lots of it esp along the long-winding road up Genting Highlands, cos you have to drive slowly along so I can see it sprouting everywhere. But my mum used to warn me about eating the wrong fern.
February 2, 2010 at 1:43 am
I’ve not been to Genting Highlands and so I don’t know about that. However, midin (ferns) are common in SEA and so I presume those were probably midin. I wish I were there to very them and PICK them for luch!!
February 8, 2010 at 8:38 pm
wy wife and i recently came back from sarawak.missing midin badly,can we get it in australia?
February 9, 2010 at 11:55 am
Hi Mark,
I doubt very much you can find midin in Australia 🙂 There’s no tropical jungle in Australia – or maybe you can try the jungle in Queensland 😉
Well, if you do find some midin in ozzieland please let me know… I got some family members in Perth missing the fern too.
February 8, 2010 at 8:49 pm
ps will never forget midin meal atop carpark above kuching.thank you sarawak
February 10, 2010 at 4:13 am
Queensland or Northern Territory should be warm and wet enough for ferns (midin) to flourish. Bring some spores and spread them over the woods where water is always present. All the best.Too bad for us in Alberta, Canada. It’s too cold to grow ferns!!
February 18, 2010 at 12:55 am
mmm yummm! we have this in sabah too. been ages since i had any!!! 😦
February 26, 2010 at 10:56 pm
just back from miri, me n father in law pluck bilin along some long stretch of road, cooked it in red rice wine…simply delicious!!! cant find in singapore leh….miss it v much…
February 27, 2010 at 12:37 am
red wine with garlic… yummieeee 😉
March 1, 2010 at 7:29 am
Can’t wait till Dec. to visit Kuching. Am going to eat my fill of paku besides the umpteen varieties of succulent fruits.