Bali Highland + {recipe} Balinese Mix Rice

More than 1 month without new posting,...
and now, while welcoming the month of October, finally I have got time to continue my 'Bali trip serial story'.

After the opening story about Badung Market in Denpasar, enjoying the beautiful Bali beaches, now let me tease you with the beauty of Bali Highland.



Morning is the perfect time to start exploring the highland. In every visit to Bali, normally we plan to make one trip to visit some interesting destinations around highland area. Using the rental car and a piece of map, we can explore those places effectively without getting lost.

Tegalalang
One of Bali icons is the rice terrace. It's mix of nature and culture. Not just the rice terrace is well known, but also the water management system for paddy fields in Bali that is called Subak.

Our trip to the highland area began by visiting Tegalalang Paddy Field, not too far from Ubud. If you're lucky enough, you can enjoy the expanse yellowish mature paddy. Unfortunately when we visited this place last time, some areas were just recently harvested completely.





Ubud
Peace and quite.
Exotic, vibrant, and colorful.

In the past, Ubud was just a small village, but now is known as ambassadors of Balinese arts and culture.
Since this area is quite large to be explored in only one day trip, lots of visitors spend 2-3 days to stay here to enjoy this peaceful land and to discover the uniqueness of Ubud.

After we parked the car around the "downtown" area, we walked around the main of Ubud junction, visited the Puri Saren Agung, and enjoyed the majestic traditional architectures.

This place is also known as Ubud Palace. It is used to be the home of the last king of Ubud, and now his descendants live there.

Just opposite of this palace, one of the most interesting place to visit is located; Ubud Market.
This market has become a famous tourist destination. Most of them come to buy some art souvenirs.
Here, we can feel the soul of this place.

Some ladies were preparing and selling the offerings.
The others were praying according to the Balinese Hinduism tradition, and sending the offerings.
The smell of smoky incense combined with the aroma of many flowers surrounding us.

Colorful and unique art souvenirs are available in market.
Food... oooh, from traditional snacks to complete Balinese mix rice are available.
From exotic tropical fruits to different kind of spices.
I bought home plenty of vanilla pods!







Here, we really enjoyed walking through the market alleys.
It was good experience to see those humble and simple traditional lifestyle.











Next... what is for lunch?

Lunch in Ubud


A walking distance from Ubud Market, there is the famous Ibu Oka restaurant. Together with many foreign tourists, we had lunch there.





Balinese mix rice; steam rice served with vegetable lawar, spicy slices suckling pig and a bowl of vegetable soup warmed our hungry tummy. Yumm...



We left Ubud, ...and continue our journey heading west to Bedugul area.

Beratan Lake, Bedugul.



Beratan Lake is a shallow fresh water lake within a high elevated caldera about 1231m above sea level and it is located at Bedugul, one famous tourist destination in Bali.
It is located in a plateau area with cool atmosphere surround it. It's a very beautiful and relaxing place.

Majority of its people's faith is Balinese Hinduism, giving Bali a nick-name as "the island of thousand temples". Temples can be found in all over the island; from small village temple to majestic main temples.
And one of the most "photogenic" temples is found here, by this lake.

Pura Ulun Danu.
Built in 1663, this temple is used for offerings ceremony to the Balinese water, lake and river goddess Dewi Danu, due to the importance of Lake Bratan as a main source of irrigation in central Bali. The 11 stories of pelinggih meru dedicated for Shiva and his consort Parvathi. Buddha statue also present inside this temple.(wikipedia)

During wet season when the water level is high, these two temples are surrounded by water making them look like floating on the lake. This is unique and making them become photogenic temple and one of the main destinations for Bali tourism.

Candi Kuning Market
Just before leaving the Bedugul area, we stop by in this market.
It just not too big market, but offer lots of food and souvenirs.



Fresh fruit and vegetable, spices and also lots of snacks and coffee... available.
Here, we warmed our tummy with bowls of traditional meat balls and noodle.





After all the long story, lots of pictures...
for now, let me share the recipe of Balinese Mix Rice. I guarantee, this is 100% halal! Don't worry.

This complete set of menu is my entry for IDFB#6,
Anniversary Edition with the theme: Indonesian Festive Rice.

Balinese Mix Rice
recipes source : Primarasa, Nasi Racik.



Known as one of the biggest rice producer countries in the world, then rice become main part of our daily meal. For many Indonesians, not eating rice means not eating yet!
Not only for daily menu, in many occasions the special rice menu become the hero on dining table.
The most popular one is Nasi Tumpeng, a cone-shaped rice dish like mountain with its side dishes (vegetables and meats) is usually served in special celebration in Indonesian families.

I chose to serve Balinese Mix Rice for this event.
Why? I decided to cook this complete meal to accompany this Bali's 'last' serial story'.

To be honest, it's not an easy job to cook all the dishes, styling and take the pictures in between my daily activities. ...but I made it. I'm happy for it, and my family enjoyed all the dishes for our dinner.

Nasi Campur or Mix Rice is referring to a dish of rice served with various side dishes, including meats, vegetables, peanuts, eggs and fried-shrimp krupuk.
All depending on which areas it originates from. It is a staple meal of the Southeast Asian countries, and very popular in this country.

For Balinese Mix Rice, actually there are lots of choices of side dishes to accompany the steam rice.
You can see in the picture in my previous posting about Pasar Badung, that one of the lady sold lots of type of traditional Balinese side dishes.
I couldn't cook all of them in one time, so I chose the most popular and usual one.

Lawar, Sate Lilit, Be Ayam Pelalah were cooked to accompany my set of Balinese Mix Rice.

Lawar Sayur / Vegetable Lawar

Lawar is mixed vegetable with coconut meat and the taste is sharpened with natural flavors. 
There are many type of lawars based on the materials for composing the cooking, such as red lawar, and white lawar which is a large part made of coconut meat, and other is vegetable and meat.

Lawar is the most favorite cooking during religious rituals, family rituals or any family activities involving many persons. If there is a ceremony or any event of Bali tradition, lawar is the first plan in cooking activity.

Bahan / Ingredients :
2 sdm minyak goreng / 2 tbsp cooking oil
1 sdt garam / 1 tsp salt
2 sdt gula merah, sisir / 2 tsp palm sugar/coconut sugar, grated
100 gr kelapa setengah tua, parut memanjang / 100 gr half mature coconut, grated
1-2 sdt air jeruk nipis / 1-2 tsp lime water
100 gr kacang panjang / 100 gr long bean
100 gr taoge / 100 gr bean sprout
100 gr kol / 100 gr cabbage
2 sdm bawang goreng / 2 tbsp fried onion

Bumbu halus / Spices (ground) :
3 buah cabai merah / 3 red chilli
6 butir bawang merah / 6 shallots
2 siung bawang putih / 2 cloves garlic
1/2 sdt merica bubuk / 1/2 tsp ground (white) pepper
2 butir kemiri sangrai / 2 candlenuts
3 cm kencur / 3 lesser galangal
2 sdt terasi / 2 tsp shrimp paste
1 sdt ketumbar sangrai / 1 tsp coriander, roasted

Cara Membuat / Method :
1. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus, masukkan garam dan gula merah, aduk hingga harum dan bumbu matang.
2. Masukkan kelapa parut, aduk rata, angkat. Tambahkan air jeruk nipis, aduk hingga rata.
3. Iris tipis kacang panjang atau potong-potong kacang panjang ukuran 10 cm lalu belah dua memanjang. Buang akar taoge, sisihkan. Iris halus kol, sisihkan.
4. Campur kacang panjang, taoge dan kol bersama kelapa parut berbumbu, aduk rata, taburi bawang goreng. Hidangkan sebangai pelengkap nasi campur Bali.

English
1. Heat oil in a skillet, saute ground spices, add salt and palm sugar, stirring until fragrant and well cooked.
2. Add grated coconut, stir well, remove from heat. Add lime juice, mix well.
3. Thinly sliced ​​long beans or cut size of 10 cm and then cut in half lengthwise. Remove bean sprouts root and set aside. Thinly sliced ​​cabbage and set aside.
4. Combine long beans, bean sprouts and cabbage mix with seasoned grated coconut, stir well, sprinkle with fried onions. Serve as Balinese Mix Rice side dish.


Sate Lilit / Minced Fish Satay

Sate Lilit is mince meat or fish by pounding it into very smooth and sticky then mixed with grated coconut meat. The meat or fish is selected only from the good parts; the pure flesh only. 
It can be cooked by frying or grilling.

Unbelievable, to prepare this sate was not as difficult as I imagined before. Really... it's simple to make and produce a very delicious exotic dish.


Bahan / Ingredients: 
3 sdm minyak goreng / 3 tbsp cooking oil
100 gr fillet ikan (kakap/tenggiri), lumatkan / 100 gr fish fillet (sea bass /spanish macarel), finely chopped
1 sdm kelapa parut yang agak muda / 1 tbsp grated coconut
1-2 sdm santan kental / 1-2 tbsp thick coconut milk
1/2 butir telur, kocok / 1/2 egg, beaten
1 sdt gula merah, sisir / 1 tsp palm sugar/coconut sugar, grated
1 sdt air jeruk limau / 1 tsp lime water
3 lembar daun jeruk, iris halus / 3 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
8 batang serai, untuk tusuk sate / 8 stalks of lemon grass
kertas aluminium / aluminium foil
minyak goreng untuk olesan / cooking oil for brushing

Bumbu halus / Spices (ground) :
5 butir bawang merah / 5 shallots
2 siung bawang putih / 2 cloves garlic
2 buah cabai merah / 2 red chilli
1/2 sdt merica bubuk / 1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 sdt terasi / 1/2 tsp shrimp paste
2 cm kencur / 2 cm lesser galangal
1/2 sdt garam / 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 sdt gula pasir / 1/2 tsp sugar

Cara Membuat / Method
1. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum, angkat. Campur bumbu tumis bersama fillet ikan lumat, uleni higga rata.
2. Masukkan kelapa parut, santan dan telur kocok, gula, air jeruk limau dan daun jeruk iris, aduk hingga tercampur rata. Bagi adonan menjadi 8 bagian.
3. Ambil satu bagian adonan ikan, balutkan pada pangkal batang serai hingga berbentuk seperti 'pentungan'. Bungkus masing-masing dengan kertas aluminium yang sudah diolesi minyak goreng.
4. Panaskan pemanggang, taruh satai di atasnya. Panggang sate sambil dibalik-balik agar matangnya rata, angkat. Buka pembungkusnya, sajikan sebagai pelengkap nasi campur Bali.

English
1. Heat oil in a skillet, saute ground spices until fragrant, remove from heat. Combine the sauteed spices with finely chop fish fillet, knead until smooth.
2. Add grated coconut, coconut milk and beaten eggs, sugar, lemon juice and sliced kaffir ​​lime leaves, stir until well blended. Divide the dough into 8 parts.
3. Take one part of fish batter, shape around a stalk of lemon grass become like a 'bat'. Wrap each with aluminum foil that has been brushed with cooking oil.
4. Preheat grill, put satay on it. Bake satay with a back and forth until cook evenly, remove from heat. Open the package and serve as a complementary for Balinese Mix Rice.


Be Siap Pelalah / Balinese Chicken

Twice cooked chicken in spiced mild chilli balacan paste. First, we need to bake the chicken with some spices. 

After it is cooked, the chicken will be shredded and mixed with spicy ground spices.
Very delicious to be enjoyed with the steam rice, rich of flavor.

Bahan / Ingredients :
300 gr fillet ayam / 300 gr chicken fillet
1 sdt garam / 1 tsp salt
2 siung bawang putih, haluskan / 2 cloves garlic, mashed
6 sdm minyak goreng / 6 tbsp cooking oil
1 sdm air asam jawa / 1 tbsp tamarind water
3 sdm air jeruk limau / 3 tbsp lime water

Bumbu halus / Spices (ground):
15 butir bawang merah / 15 shallots
6 siung bawang putih / 6 cloves garlic
6 buah cabai merah / 6 red chilli
4 cm kencur / 4 cm kencur a.k.a lesser galangal
2 cm lengkuas / 2 cm galangal
4 butir kemiri / 4 candlenut
3 cm kunyit / 3 cm tumeric
2 sdt terasi / 2 tsp shrimp paste
1 1/2 sdt garam / 1 1/2 tsp salt
1 sdt gula pasir / 1 tsp sugar

Cara Membuat / Method :
1. Taruh daging ayam dalam wadah tahan panas, lumuri ayam dengan garam dan bawang putih, sisihkan selama sekitar 1 jam.
2. Panaskan oven pada suhu 180 C. Msukkan wadah ke dalam oven, panggang selama 30 menit hingga matang.
3. Keluarkan wadah berisi daging ayam dari oven, biarkan hingga dingin. Suwir-suwir kasar daging ayam, sisihkan. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus hingga bau langunya hilang dan harum. Masukkan ayam suwir, aduk hingga cukup matang, masukkan air asam jawa.
4. Masak hingga mengering, tambahkan air jeruk limau, aduk, angkat. Sajikan sebagai pelengkap nasi campur Bali.

English:
1. Place the chicken in a heat resistant container/pan, coat the chicken with salt and garlic, set aside for about 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven at 180 C. Put the container into the oven, bake for 30 minutes until cooked.
3. Remove the container of chicken from the oven, leave to cool. Rough-shredded chicken meat and set aside. Heat oil in a skillet, saute ground spices until there's no more unpleasant smell . Add the shredded chicken, stir until cook, add tamarind water.
4. Cook until dry, add lime juice, stir, remove from heat. Serve as a complementary for Balinese Mix Rice.

Have a good night.