Last week a bakery owner from Bintulu sent me a WhatsApp voice note at 11pm. He had just tried dabai paste for the first time and could not stop talking. His exact words: "Bro, this thing tastes like butter and olive at the same time. My customers are going to flip."
I had to smile. People call me Budak Dabai for a reason — dabai (the black olive-like fruit native to Sarawak) has been my obsession for years. And yes, when bakeries finally get their hands on good dabai paste, that reaction happens a lot.
So let me share what I know about putting dabai paste to work in a bakery kitchen.
What Is Dabai Paste, Exactly?
Dabai (Canarium odontophyllum) is a seasonal Sarawak fruit harvested upriver — our supply comes mainly from Ulu Kanowit, Ngemah, and Song along the Rajang river corridor. The flesh is dense, naturally oily, and carries a savoury-buttery flavour with a slight earthiness.
At SFE, we process the fruit into a smooth paste during peak season and preserve it for year-round supply. The paste has no added colouring. That soft, light purple tone you see? All natural.
Filling for Soft Buns
This is the most straightforward application. Use dabai paste as a standalone bun filling, the same way you would use red bean or pandan kaya.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Pipe it cold — dabai paste firms up nicely when thawed and chilled, which makes portioning cleaner.
- Use around 20-25g per bun. The flavour is rich. A little goes far.
- Seal the bun properly. The paste has natural oils that can seep if the dough is too thin at the seams.
Pair it with a milk bread dough (Hokkaido-style works beautifully) or a plain enriched dough. The mild sweetness of the bread balances the savoury depth of the dabai.
Swirl Breads and Pull-Apart Loaves
This is where it gets fun. Dabai paste spreads like a dream — think how you would use chocolate paste in a babka or a swirl loaf.
Roll your dough flat, spread dabai paste evenly, roll it up, slice, and bake. The result is a loaf with dramatic light purple swirls — no artificial colouring needed — and a flavour that is genuinely unlike anything else on your menu.
Mix dabai paste with cream cheese before spreading. It softens the intensity slightly and adds a tang that customers tend to love. Several of our bakery clients are already doing this and the feedback has been very good.
Enriching the Dough Itself
Some bakers have tried folding a small amount of dabai paste directly into the dough. I am not going to pretend this is a simple swap — it does affect gluten development and can make the dough a little heavier.
If you want to experiment, start with 5-8% paste by flour weight. Treat it like you would a dough with added sweet potato or taro puree. Adjust your hydration down slightly. And yes, your dough will turn a striking light purple colour. That is either a selling point or a reason to call it a purple milk bun and charge more for it. (I leave that business decision to you.)
Flavour Pairings That Work
Dabai paste has a natural affinity with dairy. That rich, slightly savoury flavour meets dairy products and something just clicks.
What our bakery clients have found works well:
- Cream cheese — probably the most popular combination we see
- Butter-enriched doughs and glazes
- Sea salt and butter finishes
- Milk-based breads (the creaminess rounds off the earthiness nicely)
- Yogurt — we have heard good things about this pairing and it makes sense given the tang
Keep the flavour profile in the rich, creamy direction and you will be on safe ground.
Storage at Your End
Our dabai paste is supplied frozen. Keep it in the freezer until you need it. Thaw overnight in the fridge before use. Do not microwave it to thaw. The texture suffers.
If you want to talk quantities, minimum order, or just want a sample to test in your kitchen first, WhatsApp me directly. I am usually faster to reply than my wife thinks I am.
— Budak Dabai, Sarawak Fruit Enterprise