Cloudy Iban rice wine served in glasses at longhouse celebrations. Dayak communities in Sarawak brew it with a yeast starter, and it is central to Gawai Dayak, the harvest festival, where a guest is expected to accept a glass.
Producing alcohol at home is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment depends on a starter cake carrying a specific local set of moulds and yeasts.
What goes into it
- glutinous rice
- ragi or a local starter cake of moulds and yeasts
- sometimes sugar
- water
How it is made
Glutinous rice is steamed, cooled and mixed with crushed starter cake, then sealed in a jar. Moulds convert the starch to sugar while yeasts ferment it, over a week to several months. The liquid is strained off and served; a longer ferment gives a stronger, drier wine.
How long it takes: one week for a young tuak, months for the strong version
How it is eaten
In a glass at a longhouse during Gawai, offered to every guest on arrival.
History
Brewed by Dayak communities in Sarawak with a yeast starter; central to Gawai Dayak, the harvest festival, when guests must accept a glass.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tuak?
Tuak is a wine & spirit from Malaysia: cloudy Iban rice wine served in glasses at longhouse celebrations. Brewed by Dayak communities in Sarawak with a yeast starter; central to Gawai Dayak, the harvest festival, when guests must accept a glass.
How is Tuak made?
Glutinous rice is steamed, cooled and mixed with crushed starter cake, then sealed in a jar. Moulds convert the starch to sugar while yeasts ferment it, over a week to several months. The liquid is strained off and served; a longer ferment gives a stronger, drier wine. It takes one week for a young tuak, months for the strong version.
Can I make Tuak at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Producing alcohol at home is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment depends on a starter cake carrying a specific local set of moulds and yeasts.
What goes into Tuak?
Glutinous rice, ragi or a local starter cake of moulds and yeasts, sometimes sugar, water.
How is Tuak eaten?
In a glass at a longhouse during Gawai, offered to every guest on arrival.
