Food
Sate
Lawar
Betutu
Pelecing
Nasi
Kuning
Jukut
Ares
Jukut
Urab
Rawon
Baby
Guling
Making
Baby Guling
Other
food
Traditional
Drink
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THE BALINESE FOOD
Food - food - food - food - food
Is there a place as lovely in fact as well as fiction?
In our part of the planet few place names conjure up the enchantment of
Bali…a promise of lush, exotic, unimaginable fantasy became reality.
The daily routine is meticulously and unbelievably complex, with painting,
sculpture, dancing, music and the folk arts totally enmeshed in religious
ritual.
To really savor Bali as distinct from its neighboring islands, it is
instructive to approach it by sampling the island's specialties.
The Balinese "eat to live" as opposed to "living to eat".
When in Rome do as Romans do….a wise old adage ,so, when in Bali,
one must surely sample the Balinese Cuisine.
The Balinese food is difficult for the palate of a westerner. Besides
being served colt always, food is considered uneatable unless it is violently
flavored with a crushed variety of pungent spices, aromatic roots and
leaves, nuts, onions, garlic, fermented fish paste, lemon juice, grated
coconut, and burning red peppers.
With meat eaten only occasionally, the diet of the Balinese consists,
besides rice, corn, and sweet potato, of vegetable and fruits, of which
they have a great variety. Besides eggplant, papaya, coconut, bananas,
mangoes, oranges, melons, peanuts, and so forth, there are others unknown
among us, such as the delicious breadfruit (timbul), jackfruit (nangka)
, acacia leaves (twi ) , greens (kangkung) , edible ferns (paku) , and
extraordinary fruits such as salak, a pear shaped fruit that grows on
a palm, tastes like pineapple, and is covered by the most perfect imitation
snakeskin, the delicate jambu, fragrant wani, the rambutan (a large sort
of grape inside of a hairy transparent pink skin), the famous mangoesteen
(manggis) for which a prize was offered by Queen Victoria to anyone who
found the way to bring the fruit in good condition to (England), and the
stinking durian (duren in Bali).
Although the Balinese are not fond of sweets, they make a delicious dessert
of coconut cream with cinnamon, bananas, or breadfruit steamed in packages
of banana leaf.
So, Balinese Cuisine is quite a taste trip. It's spicy and distinctive
reflecting the island's Hindu identity. So, prepare the taste buds for
a treat and head up to a special "warung" food stall or sample
home cooking. When in Bali…
Balinese social life is dominated by a form of Hinduism that is tinted
with animistic beliefs .in the sixteenth century many of the nobles and
intellectuals of Hindu Java fled to Bali, a neighboring island and colony,
to resist the onslaughts of Islam.
 The
Balinese was already influenced by the cuisines of Indian and Chinese
settlers would over the years accept culinary ideas. As Indonesian has
forget itself into an independent nation Bali, without giving up any of
its own diversified culinary heritage ,has added to its menus a host of
dishes from Java and Sumatra .Today , as they do most of the banquet food
,one can feast on ;
1. Sate (of/beep/pork/chicken/duck/fish, etc)
How to make sate:
First, the meat is ground and mixed with grated coconut, coconut cream
and mixture of fried red peppers, garlic, ginger root, trasi (shrimp-paste),
turmeric, nutmeg, coriander, and black pepper.
This deliciously seasoned, delicate paste is carefully wrapped around
one and of thick bamboo sticks and barbecued.
2. Lawar (of beep/pork/chicken/duck/fish, etc)
How to make lawar:
Raw blood, thinned with limejuice to prevent coagulation, acts as a kind
of dressing and is cooked briefly with boiled or raw seasoned slivers
of the meat. This salad like dish is liberally sprinkled with green chili
peppers and some times contains pieces of green jack fruit, string beans,
ferns, grated coconut, an absolutely scrumptious-vegetable.
3. Betutu (of duck or chicken)
How to make betutu:
Duck or chicken is often rubbed with tamarind, turmeric, salt and stuffed
with a spicy, aromatic paste containing red peppers, shallots, and lemon
grass. The birds is then wrapped in palm stem or banana leaves, the naturally
greased aluminium foil of this region, and either steamed or baked. This
dish is so good that is considered a worthy offering for the gods or priest
who comes to handle ceremonies in the family home or temple.
4. Pelecing siap/ayam("devil" chicken,
because it can be very).
How to make:
A whole bird is cut long the back, flattened, and grilled over charcoal.
It is subsequently cut into serving pieces, pounded lightly, and cooked
with a thick hot spice paste ("sambal pelecing").
5. Nasi kuning, a special yellow rice.
How to make:
To make the dish, coconut milk is first poured through a strainer containing
grated fresh turmeric. and than brought to a boil. Partially cooked rice,
both long grain and glutinous, is folded in and left to absorb liquid.
A final steaming with the addition of fragrant pandanus leaves finishes
off the preparation.
It is mounted on a platter, festooned with egg stripes, cucumber slices,
and fried beans and grated coconut.
6. Jukut Ares (spicy soup of young banana
palm).
How to make:
Finely sliced young banana palm (after washed with fresh water) soaked
with salt, spices and followed by meat (chicken/duck/pork, etc) and cooked
until tender.
7. Jukut Urab (spicy vegetable salad)
How to make:
Mixed vegetable, after steamed or boiled, soaked with salt, spices, grated
coconut and fried/boiled red beans/soya beans.
8. Raon (spicy meat soup):
How to make:
Meat (beep/pork/chicken/duck) cut into cubes or thinly sliced and cooked
with red peppers, shallots, tamarind, ginger roots, turmeric, bay leaf,
lemon grass, salt, shrimp-paste (terasi) and other flavor.
9. Babi Guling.
How to make:
Stuffed and roasted baby pig.
BABI GULING
(ROASTED PIG)
A specific Balinese Cuisine
Babi Guling (roasted pig) is a specific Balinese cuisine. It is called
a specific cuisine as nearly all of Balinese people know it. such a food
can be found everywhere in this paradise island. The term of Nguling (verb)
means to make babi guling. This term has been famous throughout the island.
The word Nguling also has a special meaning that is an indication of a
glorious event such as ritual ceremony, festival, marriage and other important
day, which commonly can not be the found in a usual day. But in the term
of commercial purposes it can be found in a special stall, restaurant
which provide its menu with babi guling. A part from that most people
make babi guling for paying their promises to the God or ancestor or mesangi
nguling (local term). It is done because the God has grated their intention
such as they have been successful to carry out their mission or may be
they win a competition or other activities that make them profitable.
The babi guling for ritual purpose are presented to the God by a priest
or leader of ceremony in order the God receives the presentation. It this
time all families should witness the ceremony and pray together. When
the ceremony was over they may jointly eat it. the babi guling is not
only for their families at home, but also for other relatives (jotan).
The word jotan has been familiar in Bali. it is not only for the people,
but also for evil spirits. It is commonly a small sacrifice of food, dedicated
for Bhuta Kala (evil spirit) in order they do not disturb the ceremony.
How the process of making Babi Guling
Commonly the Babi guling is made from small pig. It is roasted completely
(all body) on a fire, after it has been cleaned its leather and intestines.
Its stomach is filled with medium cooked base genep or base begalo, mixed
with young cassava leaves. Base gede is a mixture of spices consisting
of grater galingale, turmeric, kamferia galanga, ginjer, white pepper,
red pepper, candlenut, a fish paste made from shrimps and other worse
fish, citronella grass, clove, salt, union, garlic coriander, seed and
etc. base begalo is similar to base genep, but most part of it consisting
of citronella grass. All the intestines should be drown out and replaced
it with the medium cooked mixed spices and tied it with string. The pig
is stickled with some two meters-long bamboo or tree through its mouth
and buttock. After word the pig is roasted on a fire (live coals) gradually.
After the pig is cooked, the bamboo or tree, which was used to stick it,
should be taken again. The roasted pig is placed in a certain place and
ready for dishes.
Others food:
a. Sate - beef or chicken kebabs served with a peanut sauce.
b. Nasi Goreng - fried rice with an assortment of ingredients such as
chicken, vegetables, pork ,beep, all served with prawn crackers and a
fried egg.
c. Mie Goreng - as above but using noodles instead of rice.
d. Ayam Goreng - Fried chicken.
e. Cap Cay - (pronounced chap chai) stir fried vegetables.
f. Gado- Gado - An assortment of par boiled and fresh vegetables laced
together with a peanut sauce.
g. Rujak - A spicy (hot) fruit salad - can be ordered plain as "fruit
salad".
h. Padang Food - Spicy food from a province of Sumatra-has to be the most
democratic meal ever, with 12 or more dishes being brought to your table
and each person choosing from beef, prawns, vegetables, (all styles),
eggs, chicken-tree types, offal, even soup and chili… and you only
pay for what you eat.
Bali's
Traditional Drinks.
drink - drink - drink - drink
For those of you that wonder what the Balinese themselves like to drink
here is a run down on the top 3 favorites :
Arak - a brandy made from distilled palm sap that is very potent
and is used in ceremonial purposes! Not recommended "straight"
but great as 'arak madu' or 'arak attack'.
Brem - A sweet rice wine used in ceremonies and for those of you
with a penchant for sweetneest we suggest you don't leave Bali without
tasting it, if you would like to see it being made call the Udayana Factory
for a tour.
Tuak - Palm beer, or un distilled "arak", is made from
sap collected from the palm flower "bud". Popular with the Balinese
it is not, however, to be found on any cocktail list.
we suggest you don't leave Bali without tasting the Balinese wine
!!
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