Bali
is known for a beautiful and aesthetic island for thousands of wonder lies on
it. Aside from its beautiful scenery, authentic Balinese food is the must try
one every time you visit Bali. Balinese food made rich by the heavy use of
local herbs and spices, and often prepared for traditional ceremonies.
These
days though, plenty of classic dishes are served everywhere from tiny warungs
through to high-end restaurants, making it easy for travelers to savor the
flavors of real Balinese cuisine. Here are the most popular foods in Bali
- Babi Guling (Suckling Pig)
Pork
dishes are relatively hard to find across the mostly Muslim Indonesian
archipelago, but Bali's famed suckling pig makes any roaming traveler's wait
worthwhile. Spiced with turmeric then stuffed with “Base gede” (a basic
Balinese spice paste made from white pepper, black pepper, coriander, cumin,
clove, nutmeg, sesame seed, and candlenut) and roasted on a spit over coconut
husks or wood to tender. A serving of Suckling pig contains sliced meat, a few
pieces of satay, fried peanuts, and jukut ares.
2. Lawar
Lawar
is a crunch-tender mix of vegetables, grated coconut meat and minced meat mixed
with various heady herbs and spices, and often fresh blood -- every village has
its own version. While it's the usual accompaniment to babi guling, lawar can
stand as a dish in its own right -- lawar nangka, or young jackfruit lawar, is
an example.
3. Ayam
Betutu (Slow Cooked Chicken)
Have
you ever heard about Ayam Betutu? One of the famous Balinese cooking that you
can’t miss over! This cooking needs to be cooked for so long to get the best
taste and also to induce the seasoning onto the chicken.
Chicken
washed and rubbed with tamarind puree to tenderize the meat. Then it’s washed
off and stuffed with eggs, cassava leaves and rajeng spices, a spice mix
specifically created for this dish. Once it’s ready to cook, wrap the chicken
with banana leaves or upeh (betel nut husk) and slow cook the meat until it’s
tender and soft. It has a spicy taste but with rich flavor of Balinese spices
that you can’t deny its deliciousness.
4. Sate Lilit
This
kind of satay is different compared to another kind of satay where the meat is
skewed into a stick, but this one the meat is twisted in a bamboo skewer or
lemongrass. Grinded meat (either chicken or fish meat) mixed with Balinese
spices are lumped onto stick made from bamboo or lemongrass to increase the
flavor of satay. Once it’s done, satay is grilled over hot coals. This satay is
a popular street food dish, so it can be found at any place even on higher –
end places.
5. Sambal Matah
Sambal
matah or raw sambal is the best sambal and good for any kind of Balinese
dishes. Made from chopped shallots, salt, lemongrass, chili pepers, and ginger
all doused in lime juice. One ingredients for sure is shrimp paste which makes
the taste even more authentic.
