What do nasi goring, chicken satay, and Gado Gado have in common?
They are popular Indonesian dishes!
Learning how to cook them, especially those of Balinese, will not only help you save a lot of time and money but will also open you to the wonderful ethnic culture of the Indonesians.
What Is Up with Indonesia Balinese Cooking?
Indonesia is the biggest archipelago in the world, which then explains why certain dishes can have different varieties.
For example, satay in Bali is sated lilit, which is a combination of various kinds of meat, including turtle meat.
It is then cooked with spices such as pepper and thick coconut milk.
Though Bali dishes may be entirely different from other Indonesian dishes, they do have some similarities:
Balinese love add peanuts.
The Malaysians also love peanut sauces, but they actually obtained this manner of cooking from their Asian neighbor, the Indonesians.
They also like spices.
They may use a particular kind of spice or combine them to create a whole new mixture and flavor.
Indonesians have introduced sambal, which is a sauce made of chili.
It is normally used as a condiment, though it may be added to the dish itself.
In Bali, they have the tuna sambal, wherein the sambal itself is raw and made up of lemongrass, chilli pepper, and ginger, to name a few.
It is then paired with seared tuna.
They are huge rice eaters. They love to pair every dish they have with rice, which they eat with their bare hands or a spoon and fork.
A clear proof of that is the nasi goreng.
They are heavy on meat and seafood.
Considering that they are basically surrounded by bodies of water, their immediate source of food is fish, mussels, prawns, and crabs.
Cooking Balinese in Singapore
If you cannot forget your great memories in Bali, if your favourite food is satay, or if you simply want to try something new, then you better enrol in any of the Balinese cooking classes in Singapore.
Granted, this kind of class is not often offered, unlike Indian, Chinese or Malaysian dishes.
This could be because there are fewer Indonesians in Singapore or people prefer to experience something more authentic by travelling to Bali, which is only less than 3 hours away.
Nevertheless, if you happen to come across one, it is commonly held in a restaurant that is also serving some Balinese or Indonesian dishes.
Sometimes what they show is general Indonesian cuisine.
You can start with that and only adjust the ingredients or the flavour to make them more Balinese oriented.
As mentioned, Balinese loves peanut sauces.
If you are allergic to that, then you have to tell the chef about it, so you would not be forced to touch or taste something that’s going to put your health on the line.
Also, the prepared meals may have a lot of spices and chili.
Make sure you have some water or chendol, which can be complemented with some vanilla cream on top.
Craving for some nice Gado-Gado (Indonesian-style salad w/piquant peanut sauce) now?
Learn how to make this delicious Asian Salad!