Bali Manggang - Balinese Cooking Class!

BALI COOKING CLASS! Friday August 11

Elsa and I joined a group of other tourists (from all over the world - Germany, Denmark, England, Australia, France and probably other places....). We were in two groups - 7 of us crammed into a little van and were whisked away in the crazy traffic - not knowing where we were going, how far away the place was or how long it would take to get there! BUT we made it safely - to a family compound outside of Ubud where we were given aprons and knives and ingredients to slice, dice, crush, grind, stir, fry, boil and steam! Then after about 2 hours of labor (making 7 different dishes and 3 sauces) we all got to share our awesome buffet together! It was DELISH! And we got a list of all the recipes so we can attempt to re-create these delicious, Balinese dishes at home!

                                  Grinding peanuts into a sauce with a traditional stone mortar and pestle!

                                         Beautiful Bali nature view from the back of the house.

                                                      All SEVEN dishes ready to devour!

While there's plenty of meat in Indonesian and Balinese food, there are a number of dishes (popular with Balinese and tourists) that are naturally veggie friendly with tofu and tempe (both made fresh locally - the tempeh is soooooo yummy). Enak sekali! ('very delicious' in Indonesian)

1. Bakso Soup (usually has tuna meat balls -- we got to make a veggie version)

2. Tofu and Soya Bean Curry

3. Vegetables with coconut sauce

4. Tofu and Corn patties (rolled in banana leaves and steamed)

5. Balinese fried noodles (Bak Mi Goreng)

6. Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng)

7. Banana Dumplings (boiled and rolled in fresh coconut -- the second to last photo above)

And SAUCES: Balinese bbq sauce (Sambal Ulek - usually has fish paste), Peanut Sauce and Curry Sauce

YUM YUM YUM!!