Filming my new show Street Food Chef has taken me all over the archipelago for the last few months. It’s been a ride, to say the least. But as they say, there’s no place like home, so I’m pretty happy that this week’s episode was shot in Bali.
I’m always happy to be here, with my wife and kids, and so having the whole crew travel here from their base in Jakarta was definitely one of my favourite moments so far.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that the Seminyak scene doesn’t exactly sum up my take on great Bali eating. Not to say that there aren’t great restaurants there or that the culinary scene isn’t truly world class (hey, it’s where Mama San and Sarong are, so I’m not throwing stones), but there’s so much more to Bali than sunset cocktails by the beach and degustation menus.
Denpasar is the home of some of the island’s best regional eats, so that’s where we went. One of the island’s star signatures is betutu – which is done with either ayam (chicken) or bebek (duck) and it’s a real winner.
It’s essentially roast duck, or chicken, but done island style. The bird is marinated in the Balinese spice paste staple, bumbu gede, then wrapped up like an Egyptian mummy in banana leaves before being slow-cooked underground, usually for about 12 hours. You can imagine the result. The steaming parcel opens and it’s all falling off the bone goodness. I’ve got it on the menu at Mama San and it’s a cracker of a dish.
Got your mouth watering? Good. Hold that thought, because you’ll be getting the recipe right here on the blog on Monday. You’ll be even more pleased to hear that it’s a modified version that doesn’t involve a 12 hour cooking time, or digging a hole in your backyard to get an underground cooking pit happening.
Speaking of cooking challenges, I learnt all about using and cooking bee larvae, which was a first, even for me. Believe it or not, it sounds a lot more icky than it actually tastes.
Can’t imagine that bee larvae is going to end up in any of my restaurants anytime soon, but who knows, I’m always up for something new. How about you?
If you’re in Indonesia, you can watch Street Food Chef every Sunday at 8AM on TransTV. Further abroad? You can still get a good dose of what I’m discovering, chopping, cooking and seeing by following me on Twitter. Come along for the ride – it’s always more fun with friends!
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