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Shadrach said:
I don't get it, you don't like noodles? How about potatoes? What about bread, not only white bread? Cassava, green jackfruit, taro? Well you are lucky if you never have eaten Balinese food! I don't quite get it. What do you eat? Have you tried to introduce her to Quinoa, millet, barley, oats? Thai green curry?
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Mate, look at my food pictures and you'll know what I eat...

Just had luch at the beach, 2 gin tonic, a large Shepherds Pie with 2 glasses of Two Island Shiraz.

Easy stuff....

Now at home digesting under the A/C, later will probably drop by at a bar in Danau Poso, a few Jim Bean coke while watching the sexy waitress, and latder on off to listen to the music.
Latino night today.
One has to enjoy life before getting old !
 
I could show you dozens of Balinese meals cooked to European standard using all of the many wonderful herbs and spices, fresh produce and creativity shown by the kitchens and streetfood of Thailand or Vietnam BUT no tourists or expats know them here and they're not offered in the local restaurants or warung (with a few exceptions) for that very same reason. IMG_0055.JPG
 
Thanks, to Markit and Balifrog, for showing me there is hope with the menu here in Bali. Let's Pig out! Oink,Oink!
 
Markit said:
I could show you dozens of Balinese meals cooked to European standard using all of the many wonderful herbs and spices, fresh produce and creativity shown by the kitchens and streetfood of Thailand or Vietnam BUT no tourists or expats know them here and they're not offered in the local restaurants or warung (with a few exceptions) for that very same reason. View attachment 4075
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Well, not much that I would touch.
But to each his own !
 
I'm new here on the forum and also a foodie. So in the interest of avoiding the political rhetoric I was so happy to distance myself from in the west, I'll speak to the commentary on food and share my experiences regarding food in Bali. I have been visiting Bali for work and pleasure since 1990 an moved permanently last October. I've been fortunate enough to have some very close Balinese friends from then until today. One thing to notice about Balinese food is the style in which they prepare daily food for the family. Daily cooking is done in the morning and left out for the day. Although not all, most dishes do not require much time to prepare and are fried. For most families there is no oven, no grill. So imagine your limitations if you only have 20 min to prepare multiple dishes and have no oven and no grill. And then you have the other side, where dishes like Lawar and Martabak Telur require an excessive amount cutting and chopping and prepping and are often reserved for special occasions. For most westerners this style of eating all day what was prepared in the morning and left in a cupboard all day is unappealing. It is also heavy on chili peppers. I can only assume this is an acquired tolerance as while I enjoy peppers, for me it can be extreme here. Some form of Sambal goes on just about everything. For my palate the best Indonesian dishes are the ones they slow cook like Rendangs and Betutu's, or those that are grilled. While I won't say Balinese are lazy cooks, they seem to take less interest in food than what I've experienced in other countries. They do not seem to experiment with new dishes or even with what they order when going out. They are sort of the opposite of foodies. My wife is from Batam and we always go out for most meals when visiting to a variety of nice restaurants. They order Nasi Goreng 90% of time. I asked my wife about this and her opinion is that most Indonesians view eating is just to relieve hunger. She also notes that they must have rice everyday or they will not feel like they have eaten. My more westernized Balinese male friends have come to really enjoy many western dishes. Interestingly in my experience this is is not true in the women and therefore it doesn't transfer into the home and the culture. Clearly Indonesia food is not hitting the charts in International cuisine but it is IMO because the eat culturally and with the purpose of mainly providing sustenance, not quisine. Cheers to all.
 
Scott H. said:
I'm new here on the forum and also a foodie. So in the interest of avoiding the political rhetoric I was so happy to distance myself from in the west, I'll speak to the commentary on food and share my experiences regarding food in Bali. I have been visiting Bali for work and pleasure since 1990 an moved permanently last October. I've been fortunate enough to have some very close Balinese friends from then until today. One thing to notice about Balinese food is the style in which they prepare daily food for the family. Daily cooking is done in the morning and left out for the day.(also a reason for the many cases of food poisoning they have - hear of Megibung? the whole village sits down on the ground across from each other, packed together and shovels in a row of "food" placed on banana leaves. Everyone drools and slobbers on each other and the food their neighbor is eating) Although not all, most dishes do not require much time to prepare and are fried. For most families there is no oven, no grill. So imagine your limitations if you only have 20 min to prepare multiple dishes and have no oven and no grill. And then you have the other side, where dishes like Lawar and Martabak Telur require an excessive amount cutting and chopping and prepping and are often reserved for special occasions. For most westerners this style of eating all day what was prepared in the morning and left in a cupboard all day is unappealing. It is also heavy on chili peppers. I can only assume this is an acquired tolerance as while I enjoy peppers, for me it can be extreme here. Some form of Sambal goes on just about everything - because the "meal" is usually 90% white rice and needs some flavor - they usually don't even cook their rice with salt!. For my palate the best Indonesian dishes are the ones they slow cook like Rendangs and Betutu's, or those that are grilled. While I won't say Balinese are lazy cooks, they seem to take less interest in food than what I've experienced in other countries. They do not seem to experiment with new dishes or even with what they order when going out. They are sort of the opposite of foodies. My wife is from Batam and we always go out for most meals when visiting to a variety of nice restaurants. They order Nasi Goreng 90% of time. I asked my wife about this and her opinion is that most Indonesians view eating is just to relieve hunger. She also notes that they must have rice everyday or they will not feel like they have eaten. My more westernized Balinese male friends have come to really enjoy many western dishes. Interestingly in my experience this is is not true in the women (from my staff it's taken the woman 10 years to start trying the stuff I cook for me and the wife with always some extra for them - her boys and hubby just love my foreign cooking but not the wife) and therefore it doesn't transfer into the home and the culture. Clearly Indonesia food is not hitting the charts in International cuisine but it is IMO because the eat culturally and with the purpose of mainly providing sustenance, not quisine. Cheers to all.
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What a great post and a huge welcome to the forum! I agree (and have said myself on many occasions here) with everything you say.

I've also found that regardless of how poor they may be the locals always have Idr 20k for 2 x warung food a day to compliment their "normal" 3 or 4 meals a day.
 
Thanks for the welcome. Yes on the Warungs. A contributing factor I have noticed is that they do not eat as a family so often.I wonder if that contributes to the lack of their quisine evolving. I also notice I've spent years in Bali accumulatively and I've been to one dinner party. I've been here 6 months and have had 4. LOL ! Aren't cultural differences interesting ! Back to the warnings, if the cupboard is dry then 12,000 for a nasi campur is quick and easy. I lived alone for some years and although I love to cook, I found that cooking for one was more costly and wasteful than eating out in many cases.. It's not the cooking, it's the buying. When everything is sold by the bag, I can make many salads with the ingredients required to buy to make one, and maybe I don't want 5 salads in week. So I employed strategy to consume my groceries before they perished. It had its limitations, one being spotaneiity, the other variety. So, I dined out a lot. I ended up creating a shopping list for Bali of which stores carry which particular favored items. I did this out of necessity as more specialty food items seems to be a bit random from store to store and I was having a hard time remembering which store had what. I'm still looking for dried spearmint ! LOL Favorite restaurants for me are, Hong Kong in old China Town Denpasar, been going there 34 years. I also like the place the food and the vibe of Kebun Bistro in Ubud. Another favorite is Genius Cafe at Sanur Beach. Anyone have any good restaurants or food finds In Bali they would like to share? Have a happy :)
 
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Since the missus turned vegan I've had to come up with some "hacks" to make bought food keep longer. These may be of interest:
1)buy 1kg small carrots and then keep them in a small bucket of water in the fridge - normally go black in a few days, with this method stay good for 2 or 3 weeks - remember to change the water weekly.
2)small bunch of cilantro - put stems in glass of water, cover tops with plastic bag then rubber band them together and keep in door of fridge.
3) potatoes - keep in balinese offering basket (sealed) with an apple - won't sprout forever
4) buy bulk noodles/pasta and put in the freezer overnight to kill any bugs in the bags (learned this here, thanks) take out after 1 night, should last.
5) corn on the cob - remover kernels with sharp knife and spread over small tray then freeze. Once frozen throw in plastic bag and return to freezer and use as much as you want, when you want.
6) freeze fresh tomatoes (see 5). In season cost here 3 or 4k per kilo - now 40k
More if wished
 
Markit said:
Since the missus turned vegan I've had to come up with some "hacks" to make bought food keep longer. These may be of interest:
1)buy 1kg small carrots and then keep them in a small bucket of water in the fridge - normally go black in a few days, with this method stay good for 2 or 3 weeks - remember to change the water weekly.
2)small bunch of cilantro - put stems in glass of water, cover tops with plastic bag then rubber band them together and keep in door of fridge.
3) potatoes - keep in balinese offering basket (sealed) with an apple - won't sprout forever
4) buy bulk noodles/pasta and put in the freezer overnight to kill any bugs in the bags (learned this here, thanks) take out after 1 night, should last.
5) corn on the cob - remover kernels with sharp knife and spread over small tray then freeze. Once frozen throw in plastic bag and return to freezer and use as much as you want, when you want.
6) freeze fresh tomatoes (see 5). In season cost here 3 or 4k per kilo - now 40k
More if wished
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Would be easier to replace the Missus.....
 
Markit said:
Since the missus turned vegan I've had to come up with some "hacks" to make bought food keep longer. These may be of interest:
1)buy 1kg small carrots and then keep them in a small bucket of water in the fridge - normally go black in a few days, with this method stay good for 2 or 3 weeks - remember to change the water weekly.
2)small bunch of cilantro - put stems in glass of water, cover tops with plastic bag then rubber band them together and keep in door of fridge.
3) potatoes - keep in balinese offering basket (sealed) with an apple - won't sprout forever
4) buy bulk noodles/pasta and put in the freezer overnight to kill any bugs in the bags (learned this here, thanks) take out after 1 night, should last.
5) corn on the cob - remover kernels with sharp knife and spread over small tray then freeze. Once frozen throw in plastic bag and return to freezer and use as much as you want, when you want.
6) freeze fresh tomatoes (see 5). In season cost here 3 or 4k per kilo - now 40k
More if wished
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Hey Markit - thanks for the tips. Thumbs up on the pasta bugs and the apple.
 
This may give you a laugh.

I saw this recipe on the internet:
"Just pour flour into the boiling water! I no longer shop in stores! Easy and tastyDefinitely try this famous recipe! It's incredibly easy and delicious! Crispy so delicious! Everyone who eats it will want the recipe! Waiting for likes and comments Ingredients needed for the recipe 3 glasses of water (600 ml) 2 glasses of flour ( 240 g ) 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon of butter or oil 150 g feta cheese some parsley some paprika Plenty of cooking oil for frying."

After cooking the flour in the boiling water for ten minutes I then kneaded the dough and, per instructions, made small round pats, lay filling, covered with another pat and then fried

What did I do wrong? I finished up with an incredibly sticky mess that defied being patted into the nice shapes as shown in the video. I tried nonetheless and the final result was a shapeless mass of over cooked fillings and blobs of oily dough some hard and some probably undercooked. I ate it anway. My wife is away but I won't try when she comes home.

P1080460 - Copy.JPGP1080461 - Copy.JPG
 
A
harryopal1 said:
This may give you a laugh.

I saw this recipe on the internet:
"Just pour flour into the boiling water! I no longer shop in stores! Easy and tastyDefinitely try this famous recipe! It's incredibly easy and delicious! Crispy so delicious! Everyone who eats it will want the recipe! Waiting for likes and comments Ingredients needed for the recipe 3 glasses of water (600 ml) 2 glasses of flour ( 240 g ) 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon of butter or oil 150 g feta cheese some parsley some paprika Plenty of cooking oil for frying."

After cooking the flour in the boiling water for ten minutes I then kneaded the dough and, per instructions, made small round pats, lay filling, covered with another pat and then fried

What did I do wrong? I finished up with an incredibly sticky mess that defied being patted into the nice shapes as shown in the video. I tried nonetheless and the final result was a shapeless mass of over cooked fillings and blobs of oily dough some hard and some probably undercooked. I ate it anway. My wife is away but I won't try when she comes home.

View attachment 4088View attachment 4089
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As I said, there is cooking and "cooking" ......
 
"what did I do wrong?" where to start?
1) non-stick pan
2) make a rue, not boil the dough
3) maybe slowly fry the rue until it gets brown on one side?
4) maybe add filling then fold over?
5) maybe then throw the whole mess down for the dog and go to the warung?
 
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