On the plane to Bali from Bangkok, I never anticipated becoming part of a Balinese family. But I’m glad I have!
Pat and Putra enjoying products of the house kitchen...
Putra is the awesome, laid-back Dad. He is friendly, happy, always making jokes, and likes to have fun. His English, thanks to some time in the international service industry, is stellar. When not working in his auto garage, he can be found sitting on the patio floor smoking menthol Flavas and drinking Kopi or cappucino. Oka is the sweet mother with lots of energy who runs around in Capris. She is always teetering in fancy shoes, referring to herself in the first person, and using English in an endearing way. What she lacks in vocabulary, she makes up in quantity. My favorite part is her propensity to emphasize concepts by repeating words. She says things like, “This one big, big!” and “Okay, you look look!” When she’s not at her government job, she’s in the kitchen or sitting at the dining table on the open air porch calculating the family budget or doing paperwork.
Oka teaching Jeanne to weave Tipat
I’ve spent some independent quality time with both Putra and Oka. Oka taught me to weave “tipat” (sounds like teapot) and cook myriad Balinese dishes. The tipat took me several hours of practice over three or four days to conquer — a diamond-shaped container woven from palm fronds used on ceremonial occasions. It’s filled partway with dry rice, steamed, and the thick cake it creates can be kept for consumption for several days.
Foodwise — I can’t give Balinese cuisine enough praise. I’ll post up the how-tos that I managed to get down on paper from my time in Oka’s kitchen. We made fall-off-the-bone soft ribs in a yummy broth, an amazingly rich vegetable dish, a dizzyingly delicious sambal for fish, and tofu that didn’t taste like soggy cardboard! I failed to capture the green papaya soup, Russian meatballs, sambal mata (a Balinese salsa), or base gede — the foundation of most Balinese dishes. Thankfully, Pat and I spent a day in a cooking class at a local restaurant to round out our skill set. I can’t wait to make you dinner! ♣
Hard-won creation, this tipat - I practiced many, many times!
Learn to Make Qua Asam (“Bitter/Sour Soup”) AKA Slow Cooked Ribs in Broth
Learn to Make Sayur Japan (Green Chayote) AKA Yummy Chayote and Coconut Stew
Learn to Make Pindang AKA Most Delicious Fish Sambal You’ll Ever Taste
Learn to Make Tofu That’s Tolerable!
Click for some photos of our forays in the kitchen at Oka and Putra’s Puri Duwur Abing.
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