Bali and its gastronomy
Arriving to Bali by plane means passing over dozens of Indonesian islands that help create the sensation of arriving at a tropical, exotic, wonderful destination
The aircraft lands in the capital, Denpasar, flying over green plains and giving the impression that there is no runway, only sea. In the background, the island's mountains await, and above them all, the Agung volcano, looming defiantly. Its last damaging eruption was only a year ago, in 2018, and everyone on the island remembers it well.
The idea of Bali as paradise on Earth is well established in the Western world. The image that this small island in the Indian Ocean has projected in Europe has been changing over time. It went from being a "good island" for the Dutch who used it as a route to the Moluccas or "islands of spices" and saw it as a small corner that had escaped the rule of Islam to an "island of savages and brutes" who enslaved their people and sacrificed their widows (even though the Europeans participated in that commercial trade) when the Balinese refused to enter the colonial game. It was finally conceived as an "earthly paradise" in the first decades of the 20th century, a vision promoted by Hollywood.
The island has rarely been seen from the point of view of its inhabitants. Bali can still be perceived as a paradise, why not? It has white sand beaches (and volcanic black sand, although they are not famous among tourists), thousands of rice fields that dress the entire island in green, mountains that delight climbers, a culture rich in traditional dances, music and crafts, and a unique mix of religious beliefs. Still, Bali is so much more. Bali is its people.
The first time I went to Bali I was captivated by that tropical aura that emanates from books, movies and Instagram photos. I went on vacation for three days and three more days I was on the neighboring island of Lombok.
The second time I visited the island, I was aware that I had to understand it better. A wish also pushed me, but this time it was not so much the tropical dream but everything that grew in Bali. Something incredible about this small island is that it produces almost everything that its population consumes. Apart from some products that are imported from Java or other Indonesian islands, in Bali you can find everything.
Rice is, as in the rest of South-East Asia, the staple of all meals. They eat it three times a day and it is even part of desserts. It is cultivated all over the island and almost every Balinese family owns farmland. Adit, one of our guides, told us that families grow rice for their own consumption and if there is any left over it is sold in the local markets.
It is easy to see patios covered by a golden carpet created by small grains of recently grown rice drying in the sun. A kilo of rice costs between 10,000 – 15,000 Indonesian Rupiah (€0.60-0.90), while a bowl of boiled rice in a warung (local restaurant) costs the same price, which is why most Balinese eat at home if possible.
Food for sustenance, food for the Gods
At home, it is usually the mother who cooks, generally once a day, in the morning; or if she has time, also at noon. Food is cooked every day with fresh ingredients since most houses do not have refrigeration. If anything is left over, it is given to chickens or pigs. Mothers are the center of family life and the children remain in the same house even after they are married, so it is always the mothers the ones who cook.
They prepare food in the kitchen, which is sometimes a room that is built apart from the dormitory building. This usually has a wood fire oven on which food is cooked. People tell us that it is still rare to find houses with gas stoves and that most of them are still traditional. Among the foods prepared daily, apart from rice, there are usually fried or sautéed vegetables, eggs, and perhaps tempe, tofu, or some meat or fish.
“It's something very simple”, they all tell us while they look at us strangely. For them, daily food is more of a source of sustenance and is of such little importance that, as they told us in our cooking course, "they eat quickly and alone." In reality, this is not due to the asocial character of the Balinese but to the lack of specific meal times. Once the food is prepared, each person can get served whenever they like throughout the day. It is normal for a family to be constituted of peasants, farmers or members with other professions such as drivers. The work schedules are uneven and when hunger strikes it is better not to make it wait.
In fact, the most beloved foods are always reserved for big occasions: such as births, weddings, cremations, anniversaries and religious ceremonies. It is in the temples where you can taste the best Balinese dishes. In those special moments, the men are the ones who usually prepare the food while the women take care of the offerings and the desserts.
What is not grown in the family’s land can be easily found in the market for a good price. Bananas and all kinds of tropical fruits (mangoes, coconuts, dragon fruits, rambutans, papayas, oranges, mangosteens, durians, etc.) sit together with chilies, palm sugar blocks, tomatoes, pumpkins, ginger, citronella, galangal, turmeric, etc. Everything grows on the island.
Animals also abound. You probably won't see them on the tourist beaches of Kuta or Seminyak, but in the towns in the center and other coastal areas of the island it is very easy to see roosters and hens running wild. Bali is also one of the largest exporters of pigs to Singapore. Being Malaysia and the other closest Indonesian islands countries of Muslim belief, Bali is one of the closest territories to get them from.
The inaccessible kopi luwak
Coffee is also an important crop and the Balinese got used to its taste after it was introduced by the Dutch in the 16th century. Although every Balinese can now enjoy a good coffee in the morning, history was not always like this. The Dutch used local labor to grow coffee and then exported it abroad or consumed it themselves.
It was totally forbidden for the Balinese to drink coffee. This created great frustration among the farmers who day after day took care of the trees, collected their seeds when they turned red and dried and roasted them to create the precious beverage. One day someone discovered several coffee beans coated in feces on the plantation floor. Seeing that the seeds were whole, he washed them and followed the same process as with the forbidden coffee seeds. Thus the Balinese began to consume coffee, defying colonial laws by following their own supply route.
Many people say that this is the best coffee in the world. It is surely the most expensive. A cup of kopi luwak (or civet coffee – some wild cats that live in the forests of Indonesia and eat coffee beans-) costs 65,000 rupees (€4), or what is the same: 6 kg of rice or 3% of the typical monthly salary.
For a Balinese, it would be like having to pay €30 out of a salary of €1,000 a month for that cup of coffee. As you can imagine, ordinary people do not consume kopi luwak, and now it is nothing more than a tourist attraction. Even so, the taste for coffee has continued to be present among the people and they like to drink it very sweet.
The link between food-religion-medicine
A famous drink, adapted from the neighboring island of Java, is jamu, which taken once a day it’s said that can cure almost all ailments. Based on turmeric (the miracle spice of the Indians), ginger and honey, among other things. In fact, roots such as turmeric, ginger and galangal are widely used in cooking and together with chili peppers, garlic, shallots and shrimp paste they form Bumbu Bali, the spice base of most dishes.
I have often wondered why certain ingredients are added to a curry base and not others, and what would happen if some were removed. Over time, visits to various countries and many questions, I have been able to observe that there are ingredients that provide texture or color (such as the cashew in Bumbu Bali or the coriander in Thai green curry paste), others provide aroma or perhaps they balance flavors by being more sour or sweet, but there are other ingredients that may be present due to ancient beliefs about their medicinal powers. This is the case of the roots I mentioned before.
Food in Bali has several functions: it provides energy to carry out daily tasks, it can be a source of income, but it also heals and has deep-rooted symbolisms
Sometimes these symbolisms are not local but rather had settled with the migrants who brought them. It is common to see oranges or tangerines as part of the daily offerings given to the Gods. These offerings always go inside a small open house made of strips of dry bamboo leaves and apart from flowers and incense they also house mini-pyramids of rice offered every morning after cooking the rice for the day, as well as fruits or sweets. The offerings found on the ground do not usually have food as they are directed to the evil Gods.
The cosmic balance
Everyday prayers are sent to both Gods and monsters for peace. When I last went to Bali, I was able to see this first hand. We arrived on the 6th of March and the whole island was busy going to the family temples and finishing preparations for the evening celebration. It was Ongh Ongoh and at 7 pm everywhere in the island, sculptures of horrifying monsters made by groups of young people a month before were taken out for in a parade to finally have them burnt.
The following day was Nyepi, or "day of silence," and everything came to a standstill. The airport was closed, no one could go outside the buildings or work, there was no internet and there was no electricity in most houses. From 6 in the morning on the 7th until 6am the next day nothing happened. Alit explained that perhaps it was boring but that he likes Nyepi because he can rest and it is a day for meditation. After purifying the island by burning all the bad spirits, it is time to meditate, pray and give thanks for everything.
Religion dominates life in Bali, but surely Indian Hindus would recognize little of their own religion if they visited the island. It is rather a mixture of faiths that has the Hindu gods as its center, but is intertwined with Buddhism (the Balinese believe in a supreme being called Sang Hyang Widhi) and with ancestral beliefs.
Each house has a small temple dedicated to the ancestors. It is a small pyramid of worshipers in which the main Gods are at the top and the relatives below. Every morning they pray to all of them and ask for good luck. With one of the petals that has been offered to the Gods and ancestors, it is shaped into a small boat and it is placed behind the ear, so that luck and the strength of all of them accompany the wearer during the day.
The mothers, after preparing the food for the day, go to the family temple and offer part of it to the Gods. Some believe this is why Balinese food is so tasty and uses the best ingredients: it is food suited for superior beings. They are daily rituals that can be observed all over the island. Every six months there is also a great ritual dedicated exclusively to the goddess who protects the rice fields and their crops, Dewi Sri, and it is common to see small altars dedicated to her on terraces or rice paddies.
Bali is beautiful, a paradise if you want. Bali is its beliefs and its people. With fertile land and a tropical climate, everything you need grows on the island
The Balinese are proud of the influences other peoples had on their culture and cuisine. The Chinese introduced tofu, tempe, soy sauce, and cabbage; as well as cooking techniques such as wok and stir-fry. The Indians brought their religion and also spices and the concept of curry paste. The Dutch brought all the American fruits and vegetables (pineapple, guava, peanuts, tomato, papaya, pumpkin, avocado, cocoa…). Indonesian are the coconuts, bananas, palm trees, rice and salt. All components of delicious desserts.
Although many tourists come to Bali with the idea of dream (private) beaches, crazy parties in Kuta, shopping in Seminyak or yoga, meditation, veganism and healthy food in Ubud, a lot happens on the island when you get away from this bubble
We met Unyil when we got into the car that was to take us to an organic farm to learn about local products and dishes. He was the driver the organizers of the tour had hired to pick us up and it didn't take long for him to take an interest in us and answer any questions we asked him. It was very early and it was hard for me to focus, but his energy inadvertently rubbed off on me. When he brought us back we asked him if he was free the next day so we could spend a little more time with him.
Ross, my husband, asked him how long he had been a driver. Just a year, before that he was a farmer. Farmer!? Yes, but it didn't work out too well for him and he lost 60 million Indonesian rupiah (€3,600) in just six months. A real fortune. He started growing chilies and invested 15 million in the first 4 months. “Very expensive,” he told us. “You have to pay for the seeds, the labor, the field…”. With the eruption of the Agung volcano, most of the island's crops went to hell. The ashes flooded the space and this together with several infestations of insects during the following weeks squandered all our friend's dreams.
Unyil now works for a transport agency and his salary is 2,200,000 rupees a month (€132). He told us that for the moment he is happy, but he would like the government to be able to do more for the population. Unyil dropped us off at our next hotel, a mega-resort that my husband's company had chosen to host an event Ross was participating in. It was a spectacular place, with three restaurants, two pools, a private white sand beach, concierges moving suitcases and a glass of welcome juice. Each night in that hotel cost the same as Unyil had to work for a month.
This place could be anywhere in the world. The only thing that was Balinese was the music that played at night and the tray of "local food" that was at breakfast to add a bit of exoticism. Meanwhile Ed Sheeran was playing in the pool area and you could order a “Spanish pizza” for dinner. I couldn't help but question that idea of a tropical paradise that many Western tourists have of Bali. The Bali of resorts could be anywhere with a beach. The Bali of Instagram, that of yogis, vegan cafeterias and Eat, Pray, Love is nothing more than a Western construction.
The Balinese take advantage of this, of course, and create “instagrammable” tours, or giant swings in front of the rice terraces so you can look great in photos. But Bali is not vegan. One of its most beloved dishes is babi guling, or suckling pig.
Perhaps the Balinese paradise is not this but another. Perhaps it is not Bali that projects the idea of paradise in the West, but it is the West that projects (and creates) that "paradise" in Bali.