Balinese Cooking Class in Photos
One of the things Amanda and I did in Bali was sign up for a Balinese cooking class. There are several restaurants in Ubud that offer cooking courses but most of them book up early, so if you have a particular one in mind that you want to do, sign up ahead of time. We went with a place called Bumi Bali, mostly because it looked the best out of the two or three that still had open space.
The class was about four or five hours long and involved going to the market first thing in the morning. That part definitely felt a little set up since they clearly had arrangements with certain stalls in the hopes that we would buy something from them. Even so, it was interesting to see the chaos of the market. Once we got back to the restaurant, the cooking instruction (and lots of eating) began.
The first thing we made was called Basa Gede, which is a basic spice paste. The ingredient list was pretty long but involved garlic, onions, and chilis so it definitely had a kick to it. We used it in all the other dishes.
The next dish we made was called Sayur Urab, which was chilis, garlic, coconut, and some other vegetables.
This was used on top of tuna, along with the Basa Gede, to make a dish called Tuna Sambal Matah. I’m not a big fan of fish but this was pretty tasty.
Next we made Tempe Manis, which is similar to tofu. It had peanuts, chilis, and some other spices, and I was surprised I actually liked it a lot.
We made a chicken dish called Opor Ayam, which was chicken in a spicy broth. The recipe lists quite a lot of spices and vegetables.
The weirdest one, for me, was called Bali Sate Lilit. It was pork (the recipe says you can also use chicken or duck) and some spices wrapped around a stick or a lemongrass stalk. The reason it was weird for me is because I don’t like touching raw meat but I had to in the class. I was totally grossed out but I did it. Trying to get over some of my weird hang-ups through travel I suppose.
Amanda and I enjoyed the class, though it might have been a little long. Even eating small portions of everything, we felt completely full by the end because of how many things we ate over the course of about four hours. I really like garlic, onions and spicy food, so I liked most of what we ate. Although there are probably better cooking courses in Bali, I’m glad we took this one to get a different view of the culture.
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October 30, 2011 @ 6:45 PM
Mmmmm…I love Tempeh! I like taking cooking classes while traveling – gets me more connected to the food I’m eating. Cheers!
October 30, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
Thanks! I was surprised I liked that one, but there was just the right combination of flavors along with the tempeh.
October 30, 2011 @ 7:07 PM
I hope you picked up the recipes. I think we could try a few of these things when you get back. 🙂 That spice paste looks like it would be good on chicken.
October 31, 2011 @ 3:40 AM
Yep I have the recipes! We’ll try some.
October 30, 2011 @ 7:53 PM
MmMmmmmm… all looks good to me! Adding this to my rtw must in Bali. Do they offer a class that is not 4 hours long? 😉
October 31, 2011 @ 3:42 AM
The restaurant we went to only had the one class but I’m not sure about others. It might’ve just seemed long because it was hard to understand the instructor’s accent at times. But if you just want to learn 1 or 2 dishes there are probably places that offer that.
October 31, 2011 @ 3:57 PM
Oh shit that looks delicious… and so damn good and like fun!!! I will have to do this while I am there for sure.
October 31, 2011 @ 4:02 PM
Definitely! Check out a few different restaurants to see which one you like and book ahead.
November 12, 2011 @ 5:36 PM
Tempe manis is a favorite of mine. Taking a cooking class is such a great idea and looks like you had fun. Awesome photos of the food.
November 13, 2011 @ 10:02 AM
Thanks Matt! It was yummy!
November 16, 2011 @ 9:48 PM
How fun! I keep reading about taking cooking classes while travelling and am totally intrigued. Never tried it, but I love to cook, so that would be a fun way to learn more about the culture and hopefully some dishes you try at restaurants anyways. Maybe I can try to find a cooking class on one of our next trips…
November 17, 2011 @ 8:04 AM
It was a lot of fun. Learning a little more about the culture was what interested me too. If you do it, look at what you’ll be cooking to make sure you want to eat most of it, read reviews of the restaurant/school if possible, and make sure there are some other people signed up the day you go.
November 17, 2011 @ 5:42 PM
Thanks for the tips!!