4 Balinese dishes that conquer those who love strange flavors

Article and photos: Hoang Anh

Babi Guiling - Roasted Suckling Pig

Babi is an indispensable dish in the big holidays of the Balinese people. This dish includes white rice served with roasted suckling pig, local vegetables and spices and a special spicy soy sauce. The owner of Ibu Oka restaurant, the most famous roasted suckling pig restaurant in Ubud, shared that the suckling pig used for roasting is not as small as many people imagine, but can reach a weight of 70 kg, as long as they are cared for properly and fed clean food to produce excellent quality.

Traditionally, the pig is cleaned early in the morning so that the host can serve the guests at lunch. The chef will rub turmeric all over the pig's body so that the skin has a golden color like honey when grilled, the belly is stuffed with a mixture of coriander, lemongrass, lime leaves, salam leaves, chili, black pepper, garlic, ginger, galangal... The whole pig is held on hot coals with large wooden stakes, continuously rotated very slowly by strong young men to ensure the meat is just cooked, the spices are absorbed evenly, especially the skin must be crispy, fatty but not greasy. Occasionally the chef quickly sprinkles a little water on the burning firewood to give the dish a slightly smoky taste, different from the roasted or fried pork dishes in other places. This is probably also the most attractive part of the traditional Bali Guling dish.

Imagine after all the anticipation, a plate of roasted suckling pig is served, full of color and flavor, with the smooth honey color of the crispy skin, the white color of the rice, the green color of the signature spicy soy sauce and the aroma of spices such as ginger, lemongrass, pepper and chili. And please do not hesitate to enjoy it with your hands, following the tradition that the locals still maintain until now.

Bebek Betutu - Duck Stew

Bebek Betutu is a dish famous for its sophistication. So much so that before it became popular in tourist restaurants, this dish required diners to order at least one day in advance from the chef. The duck breed chosen must be local, eating rice gleaned from the poetic rice fields of Ubud all year round. After being cleaned, the duck is rubbed with tamarind and salt to remove the odor, then the chef stuffs eggs, cassava leaves and a special spice mixture called "Bumbu Rajeng" to create the characteristic flavor of Bebek Betutu. These ducks are marinated for 8-10 hours before the chef skillfully wraps them in betel leaves and stews until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.

Perhaps this time-consuming sophistication is the secret that has made a part of Balinese cuisine through this "strange" dish. Currently, in the whole of Bali, the number of restaurants serving this dish can be counted on the fingers of one hand and most of them have been around for more than three decades. Along with Bebek Betutu is another equally popular variation, which is Bebek Goreng crispy fried duck.

Sate - Grilled skewers

International cuisine has seen many brilliant culinary crossovers, and Balinese kebabs should probably be hailed as one of the most diverse. Different cuisines offer different flavours that reflect different cultures, climates and cultures, and in Bali, diners can enjoy some of the most succulent and flavourful kebabs.

Balinese people often eat sate at large parties, when the host and guests sit cross-legged around a “rice tray” made from long banana leaves. Along with sate is fried rice, bean sprout salad, prawn crackers and crispy toasted soybeans.

When it comes to this dish, a five-star hotel chef or a cheerful street vendor will bring diners a common excitement when continuously dipping the meat skewers in a tray of sweet soy sauce and skillfully grilling them directly on hot coals. Some restaurants serve dipping sauces similar to the mixture used in Babi Guiling and Bebek Betutu, some add cardamom, cinnamon and fennel seeds, some even grind peanuts into a sauce to create a unique flavor. However, for those hungry stomachs that smell the burnt sugar, plus the smoke rising after the inviting sizzling sounds, do not "postpone that happiness". Reward yourself with a skewer of Sate or any hot grilled dish on the grill after a long day wandering around the romantic streets of Bali!

Masakan Padang - Rice with Choice of Dishes

Padang is the name of a Minangkabau village in West Sumatra, Indonesia and Masakan Padang means Padang village food. Most Minangkabau are Muslims, Minangkabau cuisine is based on a strict diet without pork. However, when you come to Bali, you will witness a culinary fusion and sublimation when you see people here skillfully prepare ingredients such as beef, buffalo, goat, lamb, pork, poultry and fish, including offal, in a flavorful way.

Padang cuisine is a testament to the East Indian and Middle Eastern influences on Indonesian cuisine, with dishes cooked in thick coconut curry sauces and using a wide variety of spices. The dishes change daily, and the menu is nothing more than a glass display of the dishes. Diners can simply glance at the menu to see if the restaurant has their favorite dish. If in doubt, the waiter will recommend or help you choose favorites such as Rendang - spicy beef stew, fried chicken, fish curry and of course sambal, a popular Balinese spicy sauce. All dishes are quickly served with hot rice. Vegetables are mainly boiled cassava leaves, or young jackfruit and cabbage served with curry sauce.

Don’t be surprised if Makasan Padang restaurants offer you Kobokan, a bowl of water with a slice of lemon, before serving your food. This water is used to wash your hands before and after eating, as Balinese people traditionally only use their bare hands to pick up food. If you are not comfortable eating with your bare hands, politely ask for a fork and spoon. Now, you can see the difference in Balinese cuisine, right from the way you eat.

More information:

+ Bali is located in the east of Indonesia & more than 1,000km west of the capital Jakarta. With an area of ​​about 5,632km2 and a population of more than 3.15 million people, this is one of the most densely populated islands in the world.

+ Bali is famous for many titles such as "Island of Peace", "Morning of the World". However, the name "Island of Gods" is probably associated with the colorful religion here. Tourists will feel part of that "colorfulness" through the unique culinary art of Bali.

The Thanh