Most important of all is the mortar and pestle, an important kitchen tool of varying size and shape common to all Southeast Asian countries. The shallow round stone mortar (batu base), wrought from rustic black volcanic rock, and its corresponding pestle are used to crush, combine, bruise and grind dry spices and aromatic seasonings. It is with these implements that exotic spice island treasures are transformed into the fragrant spice and herb pastes so essential for Balinese cooking. To prepare the ground spices, the freshly cut up or whole spices and roots must first be crushed into a coarse paste. Using a mortar to process the spice paste affects the flavor of the dish, as does the physical effort expended while pounding the spices. Patient, powerful, slow movements give the best flavor and texture for the dish. Modern appliances cannot replicate the culinary results and tastes achieved with the traditional mortar and pestle. The Balinese cook also owns a rudimentary wooden, hand-held paddle bristling with rows of small, sharp iron nails called a parutan sayur for fine-grating vegetables or a parutan kelapa for scraping coconuts to make desserts or for obtaining coconut milk. (Its traditional bamboo predecessor boasted spiky rattan points held together and trimmed with bamboo.) A different type of coconut grater made out of tin with elongated holes framed in wood is used for shredding coconut to the texture required for ceremonial food. A kukur (parut) is a grater or rasp for grating coconuts (mengukur means to grate or rasp the flesh of the coconut using a parut).
The Balinese invariably use fresh locally available cooking ingredients and foodstuffs, along with live animals. Food is picked, caught, bought and consumed directly off the vine, tree, hoof, fin and wing. The Balinese have always preferred fresh natural flavors. For this reason, ingredients are bought in small quantities to obtain maximum flavor, spices are bought throughout the week, and seasonal market produce is carried home daily. The Balinese have great respect for the food ingredients that they select and use to complement the inordinate amount of care and attention that goes into producing each dish. Spices are freshly ground and fried, coconut is roasted and grated, vegetables are prepared and cooked separately, and then all are combined and mixed thoroughly with the bare hands. The final cooking method—grilling, smoking or simmering—marries the diverse flavors and aromas into a distinctive, delicious whole. Traditionally, none of the resulting dishes was designed to last long because there was no refrigeration. Leftovers were always fed to the compound dogs and livestock. Because refrigeration is still a recent innovation, there is no custom of saving religious feast foods for the next day. Instead, all leftovers are wrapped in banana leaves and distributed to the neighbors. The Balinese live one day at a time—on every single level.
Refrigeration is slightly more common today but it is still far from universal. The Balinese do not know its function and do not see or understand a need for it. According to long-time custom, most local people still shop at the traditional market every single morning and cook fresh foods and produce from scratch every day, so they do not need a refrigerator to preserve their food and meat. Some more modern Balinese do own refrigerators but they just use them to house offerings and offering components, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, tofu, tempe and flowers. The cooked daily food is still left out unrefrigerated on the kitchen table all day long, and the remains will not be saved and stored overnight in the refrigerator. This is not a leisurely, leftover food culture of recreational eating and extended cold storage. The Balinese do not order takeout food or bring “doggie bag” portions home from restaurants. It goes against the very grain of Balinese food philosophy and practice to cook large meals in large quantities to last for several days of meals and snacks. The Balinese are horrified when you insist that food can be kept until the next day. Nothing is stored or saved or planned as food for tomorrow. No cold New York pizza slice for breakfast, no frozen or reheated food, and no cold chicken are treasured on Bali. Simple food, often in scanty amounts, is cooked fresh every single day, and is always consumed in its entirety on that same day. In the villages, the wondrous, redundant, “curiosity” refrigerator often takes lonely pride of place in the living room because the venerable, small, “traditional Balinese kitchen” is still full of soot, smoke and ash!
Tumis Pakis
(STIR-FRIED FERN TIPS WITH GARLIC, CHILI AND SHRIMP PASTE)
Komang Winaya, head chef at the Puri Lumbung Cottages in Munduk, comments that “It’s really different the cooking cultures between Balinese and Westerner. The Balinese cooking culture is on cooking preparation, then they eat all (the dishes) at the same time, while the Western culture is the enjoying the result of cooking: mix with wine, or which dishes come first to suit with certain drinks. We do hope our small hotel can give contribution for food lovers all around the world!” His favorite local creation, “tumis (to stir fry) pakis (fern tips), is just everyday Balinese food dish that can come to each house in Bali.”
Recipe courtesy of the beautiful Puri Lumbung Cottages (guests sleep in luxurious renovated Balinese-style two-story rice barns!) in Munduk, in northern Bali, 2011. Special thanks to the extraordinary Balinese chef at the Puri Lumbung (Komang Winaya) and the very helpful, always courteous Yudhi Ishwari. The Balinese cuisine served at the Puri Lumbung’s relaxed mountain restaurant in Munduk (with nearby, panoramic views all the way across the sea to East Java!) is authentic Balinese village food. Puri Lumbung Cottages (A Unique and Authentic Hotel), Munduk Village 81152, North Bali—Indonesia. Phone : +62 362 7012887. www.purilumbung.com.
6 bunches fern tips (1.5 kg)
24 shallots, thinly sliced
12 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 big seedless red chilies cut in ¼ in (6 mm) widths
6 small red chilies cut into small pieces
¾ cup coconut oil to stir fry
1 cup liquid chicken stock (or made with Masoko powder in 3 tbs water)
1 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp shrimp paste
6 tomatoes
Cut the fiddlehead fern tips into 2½ inch (6 cm) lengths and wash.
Heat the pan and pour in the oil.
When the oil is hot, fry the sliced garlic, then the sliced shallots, then add the chili and shrimp paste and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
Add the fern tips and pour in the chicken stock. Simmer until soft.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tomatoes cut into wedges can be added when the fern tips are nearly cooked. More tomato can be cut into wedges and use as a plate garnish or decoration.
Serves 4–6.
For a vegetarian version, delete the shrimp paste and substitute water for the chicken stock.
Jukut Kacang Panjang Goreng
(STIR-FRIED LONG GREEN BEANS)
Kacang is a generic name for many sorts of pulses, peas and beans. There are many types of kacang (beans) in Bali. Panjang means long (of distance, time or length) and goreng is fried. Kacang panjang itself is a cowpea or long bean (Vigna unguiculata/sinensis/sesquipedalis). Kacang panjang are long green beans on the outside, but when you dry them in the sun, the beans inside turn red. You can fry the kacang beans and eat them as a snack or garnish.
Murni’s Warung is ideally located by the old Dutch suspension bridge in Campuan-Ubud, an easy ten-minute stroll from the cultural heart of Ubud. This gorgeous four-level restaurant is beautifully decorated with Murni’s exquisite Ganesha statuary, rare stone Buddha antiques and local Balinese artworks, and overlooks an enchanting natural river gorge. Murni’s