The atlas · A cuisine · Bali, Indonesia

Balinese

Also Bali, Masakan Bali
One of Indonesian cooking's regional kitchens · all 5 side by side

The cooking of Hindu Bali: pork roasted whole, duck slow-cooked in spice, lawar chopped for the temple feast, and base genep, the paste behind nearly everything.

Where it comes from

Bali is the one Hindu-majority province of a mostly Muslim country, and its cooking follows its faith. Pork is central, and the grandest dishes — babi guling, lawar, sate — are made for temple anniversaries, weddings and cremations, where men of the village often gather before dawn to chop and pound together.

Balinese Hinduism took shape over many centuries, and Javanese Hindu nobility are widely said to have moved to Bali as Majapahit, the last great Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Java, declined. The island's cooking shares rice, coconut and spice pastes with its neighbours, but its base genep, heavy with rhizomes and spice, is its own.

Through the twentieth century Bali became one of the world's great destinations, and its food reached visitors in warungs, in Ubud's babi guling stalls and at the fish grills on Jimbaran's beach.

Where in it

  1. Denpasar and JimbaranThe busy south: Denpasar's markets and nasi campur warungs, and Jimbaran's bay, where fish is grilled over coconut husks on the sand at sunset.Nasi campur BaliIkan bakar Jimbaran
  2. Gianyar and UbudThe rice-terraced heart of the island, from Ubud up towards Tampaksiring. Gianyar's night market and Ubud's stalls are where many go for babi guling.Babi gulingBebek betutuLawar
  3. SingarajaThe north-coast port and old colonial capital of the island, facing the Java Sea, with a Chinese quarter whose siobak — pork in a thick, dark sauce — is the town's own.Siobak
  4. GilimanukThe ferry port at Bali's western tip, facing Java, famous for ayam betutu — whole chicken in base genep, cooked slowly and served fiercely hot.Bebek betutu

How it cooks

Base genep
The 'complete' paste — shallot, garlic, four rhizomes, chilli, candlenut, shrimp paste and warm spice — ground by hand, used raw as a rub or fried as a base.
Mebat
Communal cooking for a ceremony: meat minced by hand with cleavers on wooden blocks, lawar mixed and sate wrapped, often by the men of the banjar, the village association.
Guling
Spit-roasting a whole pig over wood for hours, turned by hand, until the skin cracks like glass.
Betutu
Stuffing a bird with base genep, wrapping it in leaves or palm sheath and cooking it slowly in embers or smouldering rice husk.
Lilit
Wrapping a sticky, spiced mince around lemongrass or flat bamboo sticks to grill.

Always in the kitchen

base genepshallotgarlicgalangalkencur (lesser galangal)turmericgingercandlenutbird's eye chilliterasi (shrimp paste)coconutcoconut oillemongrasskaffir lime leafsalam leafpalm sugar

Cook from it

Tonight, with what's good in October

Its classics

BalineseBabi gulingA whole young pig stuffed with base genep and greens, rubbed with turmeric and spit-roasted over wood until the skin shatters.No one here has made it yetBalineseBebek betutuA whole duck or chicken stuffed and smothered with base genep, wrapped and cooked slowly in embers until it falls apart.No one here has made it yetBalineseLawarFinely chopped meat, vegetables and grated coconut, mixed with base genep and lime — made fresh for ceremonies and eaten the same day.No one here has made it yetBalineseSate lilitMinced fish or pork mixed with grated coconut, base genep and lime leaf, pressed around lemongrass or flat bamboo and grilled.No one here has made it yetBalineseNasi campur BaliWhite rice with a little of many things: shredded spiced chicken, sate lilit, lawar, egg, peanuts, greens and sambal matah.No one here has made it yetBalineseBase genepThe complete Balinese spice paste: shallot, garlic, four rhizomes, chilli, candlenut, shrimp paste and warm spices, ground together.No one here has made it yetBalineseSambal matahA raw sambal of sliced shallot, lemongrass, chilli and lime leaf, with toasted shrimp paste and lime, dressed in hot coconut oil.No one here has made it yetBalineseIkan bakar JimbaranWhole fish split, brushed with a spice paste and kecap manis, and grilled over coconut husks, with sambal and rice.No one here has made it yetBalineseSiobakPork, crackling and offal, cut small and served under a thick, dark, sweet-savoury sauce with chilli.No one here has made it yet

Cooked here

No one here has cooked Balinese yet.