Lemang is a traditional Malay food

Malay cuisine

Malay cusine is the cuisine of Malay people of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand. Different Malay regions are all known for their unique or signature dishes - Terengganu and Kelantan for their Nasi dagang, Nasi kerabu and Keropok lekor, Negeri Sembilan for its...

 made of glutinous rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 and coconut milk

Coconut milk

Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...

 and cooked in a hollowed bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

 stick lined with banana leaves in order to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo. The cooking method using bamboo container is popular in Iban

Iban people

The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and...

 Dayak tribe of Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. Usually prepared for celebrations such as the Iban harvest festival of Hari Gawai

Gawai Dayak

Gawai Day or Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated in Sarawak on 1 June every year. It is both a religious and social occasion. The word Gawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a collective name for the native ethnic groups of Sarawak : the Iban, also known as Sea Dayak and the Bidayuh...

, lemang is usually eaten with meat dishes such as chicken curry. In fact, the cooking process used in making lemang, also known as "pansoh/pansuh", is the traditional delicacy preparation by indigenous Dayak communities for a wide variety of meats.

Lemang is popular in Malaysia, Malay communities of Indonesia, Minangkabau people and Iban

Iban

IBAN or Iban may refer to:People* Ibán Espadas , footballer* Iban Iriondo , bicycle racer* Iban Mayo , bicycle racer* Iban Mayoz , bicycle racer* Iban Nokan, anthropologist and ethnographer...

 communities of Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, Manado usually prepared by using the tapai

Tapai

Tapai or tape , sometimes referred to as peuyeum , is a traditional fermented food found throughout much of East- and Southeast Asia. It is a sweet or sour alcoholic paste...

 method. Lemang can now be found throughout Indonesia due to the spread of Minangkabau people throughout the country.

Lemang is ubiquitous among Malay communities and commonly eaten to mark the end of daily fasting during the annual Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 Malaysian holidays of Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji. The aboriginal communities of West Malaysia (Orang Asli

Orang Asli

Orang Asli , is a generic Malaysian term used for people indigenous to Peninsular Malaysia...

) also practice cooking rice in bamboo.. In East Malaysia, the Negrito

Negrito

The Negrito are a class of several ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia.Their current populations include 12 Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, six Semang peoples of Malaysia, the Mani of Thailand, and the Aeta, Agta, Ati, and 30 other peoples of the Philippines....

, dan Semai also have the tradition of serving lemang.