ALL ABOUT FOOD

We love food and believe it behooves all of us to know a little bit more about it. Hope you enjoy these culinary tidbits. RICE, RICE EVERYWHERE If you have been in Bali more than a day, you already know locals eat a lot of rice, which in its cooked state we call nasi. Rice for breakfast, rice for lunch, rice for dinner. What takes the monotony out of this? Side dishes and condiments, of course. Add it all up and you have the most common meal, Nasi Campur (pronounced “champoor”) which means mixed rice. If you want your rice to go, ask for Nasi Bungkus. It’s the same meal, but it will be wrapped in either 1) a banana leaf, 2) a paper wrapper. Maybe you have guessed by now that bungkus means wrapper. When the same meal comes in a box, we call it Nasi Kotak. No surprise, kotak means box. Nasi Campur varies everywhere. At Kafe Batan Waru, we serve nasi sela, an old-fashioned preparation made by mixing steamed rice with diced sweet potato. Nasi sela was forced upon the Balinese as a cheaper alternative to white rice during the Dutch colonial occupation, but ironically it’s now quite popular-and even more costly than pure rice. Surrounding the nasi sela we serve sapi sisit, shredded beef dry-fried with chili, gerangasem, chicken stewed with freshly chopped spices, a vegetarian version of lawar (see below), pergedel jagung, a savory corn fritter, and crisp fried soybean cake known as tempe, or tempeh in English. Three different sambals, spicy chili condiments, and an addicting coconut condiment known as saur round out the meal. A vegetarian version adds some tofu in a chili sauce. –> Surrounding the nasi sela we serve organic chicken stewed in freshly ground spices, wild mountain fern tips with grated coconut and spices, sweet corn fritters, a crisp shrimp in rice batter, and lots of yummy condiments and sambals. A vegetarian version is also available. After the popularity of nasi campur comes the runner up in popularity, nasi goreng, or fried rice. Nasi goreng is a good way to use up yesterday’s rice, whose dryness actually makes for superior results. It’s also quick, so lots of people make nasi goreng for breakfast. Bubur injin, known as black rice pudding, is another breakfast favorite, and very popluar with Westerners who often favor something a bit sweet for breakfast. It’s made with a delicious, very dark strain of rice. SOTO AND SATÉ Many Indonesians love soto ayam in the morning, a delicious chicken broth redolent with garlic, turmeric, and ginger. (And guess what. They have it with rice on the side!) Our all natural version is popular not only with Indonesians, but Westerners who don’t have a tolerance for MSG. Then there’s saté, skewered meat grilled over coconut shell charcoals. Most people think saté has to come with peanut sauce, but not true. Madurese saté, typically prepared from goat (kambing) or chicken (ayam), is indeed bathed in a smooth peanut sauce before serving, but once you get to Bali, you’ll find the indigenous saté babi, or pork saté, often rubbed with chili paste, grilled, and eaten with . . . you guessed, rice. Along the coast, Balinese pound fish, coconut, and spices together, wrap the concoction on bamboo or sugar cane, and call it saté ikan lilit. Upcountry, the same preparation is made with pork or duck, and is not only food for ordinary mortals, but for religious offerings and other ceremonial purposes as well. These saté even appear on trays of food assembled for the express purpose of presenting to a neighbor or friend as part of a formal invitation to one’s family ceremony, such as a wedding or a tooth filing. The more saté on the tray, the more the inviter thinks of you! NOT A GOOD DAY TO BE A PIG During the Balinese holy days of Galungan and Kuningan, Balinese really love to eat meat, especially pork. In fact, in less prosperous times, a typical Balinese consumed the majority of his or her annual animal protein during these holidays. The day that precedes each of these holidays is called Penampahan, and this day marks the climax of food and religious offering preparations for the next day’s ceremony. On the morning of Penampahan, Balinese head to market before dawn to purchase enough food to last at least three days. Once home, Balinese prepare pork in a number of ingenious ways, the most famous of which is lawar. The ritual act of preparing lawar (and traditional saté, for that matter) holds such significance in Balinese culture that it is given its own word: mebat. This applies to its preparation not only in the home, but even in the village meeting house, or balai banjar. (While in Bali, look around the village meeting houses and you may see dozens of men assembled, collectively employing crude cleavers and cutting boards in a communal mebat.) Boiled young jackfruit, long beans, young papaya, and raw coconut are grated or finely chopped, then added to cooked minced pork. It takes a good hand to do the rest, mixing the above ingredients with perfect proportions of fried sliced garlic and sliced shallots, a paste of at least fifteen spices, friend shrimp paste, hot chilies, kaffir lime leaves and juice, and salt. And in defiance of all conventional food hygiene, some Balinese still add a generous dose of raw pig’s blood to redden the dish and add flavor. Trust us, it’s not necessary. On the morning of Penampahan, lawar is usually ready to eat by 7 or 8 a.m., and it is consumed immediately before the ingredients sour. Believe it or not, it’s not the meat that sours first. It’s the coconut. Stomachs full, Balinese then begin making the other pork preparations, including babi kecap (a pork stew) and tum babi, little dumplings of minced pork and spices wrapped and steamed in banana leaves. And ever-economical and practical, Balinese prolong the shelf life of lawar-if there are indeed any leftovers-by wrapping it into dumplings and steaming it along with the tum babi. Yet another famous Balinese pork dish is the famed Babi Guling, a spit-roasted whole pig stuffed with a delicious mix of herbs and spices. Baby babi guling can often be seen as the centerpiece of religious offerings, left there just long enough to satisfy the deities, and then eagerly seized and sliced up to serve the pious. Balinese prize the golden skin, so crisp you can snap it in two. Again, many make their fortunes selling babi guling strictly for human consumption. You’ll see food stalls all over the island selling it, or you can order it in advance at Kafe Batan Waru. NOT A GOOD DAY TO BE A DUCK EITHER Ducks also meet their demise during the holidays. You should not leave the island without trying bebek tutu, Balinese smoked duck. Traditionally, it’s a dish a Balinese would only prepare for a ceremony since it involves at least six hours of ingredient preparation, and as many hours again to smoke in a mound of rice husks. Many Balinese now supplement their livings by supplying smoked ducks to the big hotels, most of which don’t want the smoke disturbing their guests. Kafe Batan Waru can provide you with this specialty given a day’s advance notice. Speaking of ducks, since they feed in the rice paddies on worms and insects, they themselves are considered to have a pure diet and their meat is suitable to be consumed by the Balinese Hindu priests. It’s useful to know that lawar and tum can also both be prepared with rice field feeding duck if you have to feed a priest.

GOING BANANAS  There are dozens of varieties of bananas cultivated in Indonesia.  To plant bananas, you don’t use seeds. Take a shoot from one banana trunk cluster and transplant it. This begs the question: Which came first, the banana or the banana trunk?  A banana tree grows many trunks, each one producing only one bunch of bananas, after which it is chopped down.?  Sliced, the trunk makes a nice, crunchy vegetable. Peeled in concentric rings, the fiber makes a biodegradable candle shade. Whole, the trunk functions as a pegstand for a shadowmaster’s resting puppets during a performance of the shadow puppet play know as wayang kulit.  There are dozens of uses for a banana leaf too. Look around Bali. You’ll see them used as umbrellas, food wrappers, decoration . . . and even as bicycle mud guards!

HOW DO YOU SAY RICE? Sawah - rice paddy Padi - harvested rice still on the stalk Jijih - unhulled rice Beras - hulled uncooked rice Nasi - cooked rice Bubur - rice porridge

CUT AND PASTE Base gede can be translated as grand spice paste, and is the basis for some of Bali’s most famous dishes. A good base gede has not less than 25 ingredients, ranging from the obvious (garlic, for example) to the obscure (the bark of a sweet flag tree, and the resin of the styrar benzoin tree).

HOW DO YOU SAY EAT? Marayunan When addressing a priest Rayunan When addressing a Brahman or nobleman Ngajeng When addressing an elevated commoner Madaar When addressing any commoner Ngamah When referring to an animal And you thought English speakers needed a large vocabulary!

Balinese Food

Lawar Lawar is Balinese traditional food, well-known in all over Bali and available in many Balinese restaurants. Lawar is mixed vegetable with chopped meat, vegetable, spices, and coconut which tastes is sharpened with natural flavors. There are various Lawar based on the materials for composing the cooking, such as Red Lawar, and White Lawar which is a large part made of coconut meat, and other is vegetable and meat. The vegetables which can be cooked into lawar normally are young bean fruit and jackfruit. Pork lawar is made of pork meat while Jackfruit Lawar is made of jackfruit. There is also Padamare Lawar, made of many kinds of Lawar. Lawar is usually served with rice and other dishes. Lawar is the most favorite cooking during religious ceremony, family rituals or any family occasion. If there is a ceremony or any event of Bali tradition, Lawar is the first plan in cooking activity. Babi Guling Babi Guling is more well-known as ‘be guling’ in Bali. Actually, be guling can be made of other meats such as duck or chicken. Babi Guling is a kind of dish made of a whole suckling pig. It is cooked by taking out its whole bowel and stuffed the inside with spice paste and vegetables such as cassava leaf, then grilled and rolled over a charcoal made from dried coconut shells until it is well-done. Babi Guling was originally made as a ritual offering in Balinese traditional ceremonies as well as religious ceremonies. But nowadays, it can be found in many restaurants and certain hotels in Bali area. The most well-known Babi Guling is from Gianyar regency. Urutan Babi Urutan is Balinese sausage. It is made of pig’s intestines, stuffed with pork meat and spice paste inside, and fried until it is brownish. Urutan is usually served with Balinese rice wine. Sate (Satay) Sate is made of sea fish or turtle meat, green coconut, spices, and brown sugar. It is the traditional food of Tabanan regency, but it can be found in all over Bali. Sate is usually cooked over charcoal made from dried coconut shells, on a small ceramic grille, which gives them a delicious smoky and slightly charred flavor. Sate is served as a dish as well as an offering in ritual ceremony. It is better served right after grilled (while it is still hot) and usually served with Lawar. It can last for only one day. Lempet (Pepes Ikan Tongkol) Lempet is made of tuna or languan fish and spices, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over charcoal made from dried coconut shells. Lempet is also known as Pésan or Pepes. It is served with rice and can last for 2 days. Lempet can be served as a dish in wedding ceremony and other ceremonies. Ayam Betutu (Roasted Chicken in Banana Leaf) Ayam Betutu is made of chicken with spices inside. The spices consist of turmeric, ginger, kencur, galangal, onion, garlic, salam leaf, and chilies. All these spices are mixed and put inside the chicken. That is why it is called Ayam Betutu. Ayam Betutu is usually served in Balinese traditional ceremonies such as Odalan, Otonan, wedding ceremony, etc. Sate Languan Sate Languan is made of sea fish, green coconut, spices, and brown sugar. It is a traditional food of Klungkung regency, but it can be found in all over Bali. Sate Languan is served in Balinese ritual ceremonies. It is better served right after grilled (while it is still hot). It can last for only one day. Sate Lembat (Lembat Satay) Sate Lembat is made of crushed meat mixed with grated coconut and spices. The meat is usually pork, chicken, duck, and turtle. Sate Lembat is served in Balinese ritual and traditional ceremonies. It is also available in many Balinese restaurants, along with Urutan, Babi Guling, and Lawar. Nasi Kuning Bali (Balinese Yellow Rice) Nasi Kuning Bali is a bit different from the common Nasi Kuning, especially from the spices and preparation. Nasi Kuning is usually served during Kuningan Day, the Balinese Hindhu Holy Day which comes every 210 days on Saniscara (Saturday) Kliwon Wuku Kuningan. Nowadays, Nasi Kuning is also served in other ceremonies such as birthday party, thanksgiving ceremony, etc. Nasi Kuning is served with fried chili spices, kemangi leaf, and green-peas. It is not available in Balinese restaurants. Balinese people usually prepare it only for ceremonies. Nasi Yasa (Yasa Rice) Nasi Yasa is Nasi Kuning combined with chicken, egg, and raw vegetable. Nasi Yasa is usually served in religious ceremonies such as Saraswati, Ciwalatri Day and as a ritual offering for the ancestors. Jajan Bantal Jajan Bantal is well-known in all over Bali. The main ingredients of this snack are sticky rice, peas and fruits. Wrapped in coconut leaf, tied with a rope and steamed. This snack is prepared as a dish and ritual offering in certain ritual ceremonies such as Piodalan in the temples. Cerorot Cerorot is usually produced in Tenganan Village, Karangasem regency, but it is also produced in other regions in Bali. Cerorot is made of rice flour, brown sugar, and salt, wrapped in twisted coconut leaf, and steamed. This snack is served with coffee or tea. It can last for only one day. Jajan Abug Jajan Abug is a Balinese traditional snack made of sticky rice with various shapes: cube, triangle, round, etc. It has many layers in red and white colors. This snack is specially made for Balinese ritual or traditional ceremonies. But sometimes it is also made for people’s consumption. Ayam Panggang Mesanten (Roasted Chicken with Coconut Sauce) Chicken is one of the materials used for Balinese ritual offerings. After being used for ritual offerings, the chicken is cooked with chilies to be served as a dish. Balinese people prefer to cook local chicken because it tastes better and is less fat than broiler chicken. Ayam Panggang Mesanten is one of Balinese well-known traditional recipes. Bubur Mengguh Bubur Mengguh is a kind of porridge, mixed with meat (chicken or fish), vegetable, and spices. This porridge is usually served in special occasions such as family gathering and any other occasions. Jukut Ares Jukut Ares is made of baby banana tree mixed with ribs and meat (cow, pork, duck), and spices. It is usually served in Balinese ritual ceremonies, dished up for family and people who assisted in arranging the ceremonies. Jukut Ares is served with rice. It is available in many restaurants in Bali regencies, such as Denpasar. Jukut Rambanan Jukut Rambanan is a kind of dish made of various vegetables. Cooked with coconut sauce that makes it tastes delicious. Good for digestion because of its various vegetables. Usually served with shrimp paste spices to make it more delicious.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

International Indonesia country dialing code: +62

Standard time zone Bali : UTC/GMT +8 hours
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