A whole young pig stuffed with base genep and greens, rubbed with turmeric and spit-roasted over wood until the skin shatters.
What makes it babi guling
A whole pig, stuffed with base genep.
Turmeric on the skin, for colour and crackling.
Spit-roasted over wood, turned for hours.
Served with lawar and sambal.
Where it comes from
Babi guling is food for ceremonies — temple anniversaries, weddings, tooth-filings — and a whole pig is a gift to a gathering. The cavity is packed with base genep and cassava leaves, the skin rubbed with turmeric, and the pig turned over a wood fire for hours.
Today it's also sold every day from warungs, especially around Gianyar and Ubud, served as a plate: rice, slices of meat, a shard of crackling, lawar, fried offal, sausage and sometimes a spiced soup.