24
Jan/Feb 2015
What’s
cooking?
Indulging in local cuisine can be the highlight of any
holiday; learning how to cook it yourself means you
can take home more than just memories
1
B
ali has become a huge
destination for those who
love their food, with an everincreasing number of high-class
restaurants taking inspiration
from all over the globe. But
even if you dine out every
night taking in cuisine from other parts of
the world (and we couldn’t blame you
for that), you’ll still be aware of Balinese
cooking, even if only subliminally.
It’s there on the street corner with
the guy cooking sate (satay)
sticks over charcoal in
half an oil drum. It’s
the portable
restaurant
on the
back
of a scooter, with ingredients on show and
a gas burner for heat or corn being cooked
over charcoal. And it’s the multitudinous
family warungs you’ll see absolutely
everywhere specialising in a small number
of dishes. But what are they cooking?
What constitutes Balinese cuisine? What
ingredients does it entail and how can you
cook it yourself?
To find out we joined a cooking school;
after all if the incredibly inventive locals
can cook on the back of their number
one mode of transport then surely we
should be able to replicate some dishes
given a fully stocked kitchen.
Balinese cuisine uses an incredible variety of
spices that create complex flavours when
blended with vegetables, meat and fish. It
shares many of Indonesia’s national dishes,
such as nasi goreng, gado gado and sate
but often with a local twist. As an example,
Balinese sate sticks are traditionally made with
chicken that is minced rather than cubed.
A key consideration is that most of Bali’s
population is Hindu as opposed to the
Muslim majority throughout the rest of
Indonesia. So beef isn’t on the menu,
but babi guling (spit roasted suckling
pig) is a huge favourite.
Bali also has its own specialities
influenced by other Asian cuisines,
such as Chinese and Indian, and
also exhibits hints of Dutch, Spanish
and Middle Eastern cuisines. The
famous peanut sauce would
never have existed if peanuts
weren’t introduced from Mexico by
Portuguese and Spanish merchants
in the 16th century.