Jukut Urab: Balinese Vegetable Salad
Is food in Bali all vegan, plant based or gluten-free?
I had at least 2 big surprises about food during my visit to Bali, and I'm curious to know if you'd be surprised too about some of these facts.
1. Indonesian food, traditionally, leverages all plants, spices and animals that are typical in the region. The most popular religion in Indonesia is Islam, however the island of Bali is know for its tolerance, and there is a strong influence from Hinduism. I was very surprised to discover that "suckling pig" is actually one of the favourite local food! Who would have thought?
I consciously decided not to eat meat during this trip, so I followed the vegetarian cooking class, there were tofu and tempeh on the menu, and a 2 mixed vegetable dishes on the menu. Perfect, I thought "today I'm going to eat lighlty". Well…wrong!
2. I posted about Gado Gado already - yes it's a mixed vegetables dish, but it's coated with peanut sauce. That meant a few more calories than I was planning too, but I have to say that it was really delicious!
At least the Balinese salad was lighter, however still nutritious. The taste is amazing, so I decided to share it with you as well.
Ingredients (4 people)
300 gr spinach, chopped
150 gr bean sprouts
200 gr green long beans, chopped 2-3 cm
3 tbsp fried shallots
1 tbsp deep fried garlic
100 gr fresh grated coconut
1 lime
Pinch of salt
Optional: roasted coconut & yellow sauce
Wash and cut all the vegetables in advance. Go get the fried shallots and garlic or prepare it yourself.
Boil a pot of water and briefly cook the spinach, bean sprouts and green beans for 2-3 minutes.
Mix the vegetables, coconut, salt, fried garlic, squeezed lime and sauce in a bowl. Sprinkle the deep the fried shallot on top and serve.
A REAL BALINESE EXPERIENCE
It was a fantastic experience that I would absolutely recommend. Not only we got to learn how to prepare this food, how to recognise the local roots and spices, but we were also welcomed in the local community and traditional household.
Learning about the traditional Balinese community and lifestyle was the most amazing part and I can't wait to be back.
If you're curious about this experience you can find more information on the Ubad Ubud Bali page.
ABOUT THE YELLOW SAUCE
First chop all the ingredients then crush with a mortar (or food processor). Finally sautée the paste in coconut oil with lemongrass, salt, pepper and coconut sugar over low heat.
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black pepper seeds
1 tsp white pepper seeds
1 tsp coconut sugar
2 cloves
1/2 stalk lemongrass
Ingredients:
4 cm fresh ginger, peeled
5 cm galangal, peeled
4 cm lesser galangal peeled
4 cm fresh turmeric, peeled
4 candle nuts (or 10 macadamia nuts)
2 hot chilis
4 red chili
10 cloves garlic
7 small shallots
