A Balinese Bounty

01 Oct 2011

Cooking classes, increasingly popular with travellers to the Indonesian island, are a great way to get acquainted not only with the local cuisine, but also its culture and people. M. ASTELLA SAW shares her experience.

We were picking our way through Jimbaran market in Kuta in southern Bali where speckled chickens waited silently in rattan baskets, and where saronged women sat behind small piles of dried rice cakes, palm sugar crackers, rows of red avocados and mounds of curly-ended paku, or fern tips, that may later show up in a spicy stir-fry.

There I was, at the market with Stefan Zijta, the charismatic executive chef of Alila Villas Uluwatu. As part of the luxury resort’s popular Journey of Gastronomy programme, chef Zijta accompanies guests to Jimbaran and the neighbouring fishing village of Kedonganan to take in the sights, sounds and smells of local Balinese life.

Offered by resorts, restaurants and some private operators, cooking classes are an increasingly popular tourist activity in Bali. They typically involve an introduction to local culture via market visits that are followed by a hands-on class and a full-fledged meal – prepared by the students, of course.

As part of my lesson, chef Zijta introduced me to the many ingredients that make up some of Bali’s famous dishes and jamus, those traditional concoctions of medicinal herbs and spices that target anything from headaches to the flu. He showed me how to distinguish between blushing pink galangal, knobs of kencur or white ginger, and dirt-covered turmeric. That knowledge would be put to good use later when I learn how to make different types of bumbu (Balinese spice base) and even whip up lunch.

Meanwhile, at Jimbaran, after deftly skirting a woman slicing up a pig – trotters here; ears there; intestines in a bowl – we made our way to Kedonganan. The low-ceilinged fish market was abuzz with activity, the floor slippery with scales and water. Zijta pointed out a mean-looking barracuda, a thick-headed mahi mahi and buckets of blue-clawed freshwater prawns. Outside on the beach dotted with gaily-painted boats, the fishermen were bringing in the morning’s sardines. We dodged the porters carrying boxes with water slapping over the sides, and observed the fishmongers chop and weigh their wares with lips firmly pursed around their cigarettes. Silently, I wondered how I was going to transform all of it into lunch.

At The Warung, Alila Villas Uluwatu’s Indonesian restaurant, elves had evidently been hard at work while we were out. Awaiting us were pre-measured quantities of chopped shallots, chillies and ginger; of fragrant terasi, or dried shrimp paste; of waxy candlenuts and dried salam leaves. It was certainly cooking at its most luxurious, with all the preparation and cleaning-up taken care of. After all, who’d want to be stuck grating coconut while the infinity pool sparkles on the other side of the courtyard?

Zijta showed me how to crush coriander seeds and the ends of lemongrass stalks to release their fragrance and flavour, and we started making base be pasih, a basic seafood bumbu. Balinese cuisine is based on a number of key bumbus – one for beef, one for chicken and so on. Inspired by Kedonganan’s lively fish market, we made, then adapted, the base be pasih for three dishes: tambusan be pasih or grilled banana-leaf parcels of mackerel; lawar gedang udang, a green papaya salad with prawns; sate lilit or minced mahi mahi sate, with a hint of palm sugar and coconut. The latter is my favourite of the three.

While I was nervous about having a professional chef looking over my work, it turned out to be a great opportunity instead. Zijta patiently showed me how to pinch and twist the lump of minced fish down the lemongrass skewers so the meat stayed on during grilling, and carefully demonstrated the tricky folds I needed to seal my banana-leaf parcels (below). When he saw I hadn’t put enough effort into mixing the ingredients for the sumping waluh – the steamed pumpkin cakes we would have for dessert – he directed me to really get my hands in there, squeezing out the juice from the grated pumpkin to turn the mix a light orange.

With the sous chefs whisking away each dish to the steamer and the grill, we found ourselves casting off our aprons and sampling our work in no time at all. It was delicious, of course, and I couldn’t help but think the tastes were amplified by my experience of the morning – peering into the clear eyes of the fresh fish on display, brushing past and fingering the pink ginger flowers at the market.

For all the delectable dishes we were served, it’s this, perhaps, that is the true taste of Bali: Its pungent markets, its spread of corn and chilli plantations and geometric rice paddies, and the slight, sweet tinge of crushed lemongrass on the breeze.

Cooking classes galore

Bumbu Bali

Offered by the well-regarded Bumbu Bali Restaurant, classes here are among the longest-running on the island. Participants learn how to prepare a large variety of Balinese favourites such as Ayam Betutu or roasted chicken in banana leaf and Kambing Mekuah or lamb stew with cardamom.
balifoods.com

The Workshop

Classes for amateurs and hobbyists are available at this professional-level culinary school opened by acclaimed chef Chris Salans of the popular Mozaic restaurant. These lessons focus on Balinese ingredients using modern French cooking techniques.
mozaic-bali.com

Paon Bali

For those in search of a more intimate experience, head to this culinary school run by a husband-and-wife team out of their home in Laplapan village in Ubud.
paon-bali.com

• CURRENCY
  Indonesian Rupiah
• VISA
  Requirements vary. Visit indonesia.travel for details.
• BEST TIME TO VISIT
  April to July for the best weather and to avoid the late-summer surge of tourists.
• HOW TO GET THERE
  Singapore Airlines flies 3 times a day from Singapore to Denpasar, Indonesia. Visit singaporeair.com for schedules and fares.
• MORE INFORMATION
  balitourismboard.org

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