sambal sauce
shrimp crackers (krupuk)
Steam the rice and set aside.
Grill the chicken and cut into suitable sized pieces.
Hard boil the eggs and cut into halves, quarters or slices.
Deep fry the sweet corn or potato fritters using previously boiled corn or mashed potatoes mixed with egg, shallots, chicken, flour and mild spices. Alternately, make minced meat ball patties or crab cakes.
Prepare the mixed vegetables (urab sayur) using the beans, white cabbage and bean sprouts.
Grill the minced fish rolled in banana leaf (pepes).
Make the satay sauce (page 69) and grill the satay sticks.
Make the sambal sauce (below) to put on the egg.
Arrange the various small food items on a round plate in a characteristically Balinese way to resemble a cheerful sundial or a sacred food mandala. Place a mound of white rice in the center, surrounded by an artistically perched chicken piece, half a boiled egg, slices of tempe, finely minced urap vegetables, bergedel fritters, fish pepes in a banana leaf, two chicken satay sticks and crunchy shrimp crackers (krupuk).
Serve warm.
Serves 4–6.
Sambal Tomat
(TOMATO SAUCE FOR NASI CAMPUR)
2/3 lb (300 g) chili
1/3 lb (150 g) shallot
3½ oz (90 g) garlic
2 tbs shrimp paste
4 oz (120 g) tomato
Chop up all the ingredients.
Fry all the ingredients for 10 minutes and then blend.
Crush after cooking.
Serves 4–6.
Achar
(INDONESIAN PICKLE)
Achar is originally an Indonesian dish but it is served in Bali as an accompaniment to both nasi campur and nasi goreng.
1 oz (30 g) carrots, sliced
1 oz (30 g) cucumber, sliced
1 oz (30 g) shallots, cut into cubes
2 tbs vinegar
2 oz (60 g) sugar
3 cups water
Heat the water. Before it reaches the boil, add the vinegar and sugar.
Once the water boils, add the carrots, cucumber and shallots to the pot and boil for a maximum of 10 minutes, mixing the ingredients together until they are barely cooked.
Serves 4–6.
Jackfruit Curry
(KARE NANGKA)
“If you ever find yourself in Bali, you can try these dishes at my restaurant, Murni’s Warung, Ubud, or in my guest accommodations, Murni’s Houses and Murni’s Villas. The recipes are from my village—actually, from my family.” Murni celebrates and acknowledges regional and local variations: “If you go to the next village, the recipe will be different. Such is dining in Bali: Selalu lain tapi selalu enak! Always different, but always delicious!” Selamat makan!
Balinese recipe courtesy of Ni Wayan Murni, Ubud, April 18, 2011.
22/3 lb (1.2 kg) unripe jackfruit, cubed
6 tbs coconut oil
30 shallots, finely chopped
18 garlic cloves, finely chopped
18 hot chilies, finely sliced
2½ in (6 cm) peeled greater galangal
2½ in (6 cm) peeled lesser galangal
2½ in (6 cm) peeled fresh ginger
2½ in (6 cm) peeled fresh turmeric
6 tsp ground candlenut (as a thickener)
6 tsp chicken powder (or 6 chicken stock cubes, powdered)
6 large coconuts, grated
3 cups coconut milk of the desired thickness, made from 6 large coconuts and 12–15 cups of hot or boiling water
6 tsp shrimp paste
salt and pepper to taste
Grind all the spices into a smooth paste using a traditional Balinese mortar and pestle. Add a little water if necessary.
Heat the coconut oil in a wok and fry the spice paste for a few minutes.
To make the coconut milk (santen), grate the flesh of the coconuts into a bowl, add the boiling water, then let stand for thirty minutes. Squeeze the coconut meat by hand until the water turns white and the flesh is dry, to produce thick, creamy coconut milk (first squeeze). Strain before using. Set aside the thick milk. For a thinner coconut milk, add more water to the coconut flesh and re-use the pulp (second squeeze). Mix the result with the thick milk or use by itself for a thin coconut milk. To make an even thinner milk, squeeze the coconut meat a third time. The coconut will yield about six cups of milk, enough for making a curry for six.
Lower the heat/flame, add the coconut milk and cubed jackfruit. Cook gently until the fruit can be pierced with a skewer.
Serve with steamed white rice.
Serves 4–6.
Tempe Manis
(SWEET SOYBEAN)
Tempe manis is a sweet crunchy tempe married to deep-fried peanuts and a secret, wet Balinese combination sauce of fried and simmered village leaves, chilies, sugar and spices. Tempe manis is a typical local Balinese village dish. It is for everyday eating by women in the home and is made fresh each day.
Recipe Courtesy of I Wayan Sudirna, head chef at the Tanis Villas resort in Nusa Lembongan. www.tanisvillas.com, December 2011.
22/3 lb (1.2 kg) soybean-based block of tempe
22/3 lb (1.2 kg) peanuts
½ lb (250 g) small hot red birds’-eye chilies
13 oz (360 g) big red chili Lombok
13 oz (360 g) shallots
4½ oz (120 g) garlic
6 kaffir lime leaves
5 cups coconut oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lb (500 g) palm sugar (gula merah)
Cut the block of tempe into thin sticks, then fry with the peanuts in the coconut oil for 10 minutes until brown.
Crush the chilies, garlic and shallots in a mortar and pestle, then fry in coconut oil for 3 minutes.
Add the tempe and peanuts to the frying pan and cook further.
Season with kaffir lime leaves, salt, pepper and palm sugar.
Serve with white rice or with jackfruit or pumpkin soup.
Serves 4–6.
Kering Tempe
(SPICY CRISP-FRIED SOYBEAN CAKE)
Kering tempe is a very exciting, nutritious, flavorful village specialty. This vegetarian soybean-based protein boost is easy to make and has a delicious crunchy texture (kering means dry or dried out). The core ingredient is Bali’s superlative, inexpensive, pale yellow block of fresh tempe—awakened, agitated and brought to life by blazing, fiery, scarlet red chilies and spices.