Recipes Aren’t All We Learned: surprise lessons from a Balinese cooking class

Thirty years and about three inches of life have been taken so far from the grinding stone used in Bumbu Bali’s cooking class. The pestle — the bit held in the hand, now bears two distinct finger grooves earned from thousands of local and international fingers. It’s interesting to note that most of said fingers, by American standards, were dirty. Wayan, mid-thirties, cheerful, and clever, made no mention or offer of hand-washing facilities before starting the class. Even after completing introductions and returning from the market — where vendor hygiene was perfectly showcased by a elderly root-selling woman who dribbled custard-apple seeds out the side of her mouth and onto her skin and clothing — Wayan continued to be silent with offers to or mention of hand-washing. Errr…. umm… well, “when in Rome…!”

The North Americans dominated the class of four — Pat, myself, and Suzanne the first-child from Canada. Being a first child, I can say that we tend to crash about — socially – with the best of intentions. If we aren’t careful the result can be very much like a bull in a china shop, bystanders cringing and the unfortunate objects of our attention taking a crushing. Aside from her classic, over-simplified, dumbed-down. awkward-cadence English aimed at Wayan (but not Ev the Frenchie who spoke English half as well), Suzanne was great. In a way, it was even endearing to listen to her say things like, “Do. YOU. USE. other. Spi-ces?” and declaring, “WE. always. wash. our. HANDS. in. Canada. I tell. my. grandchildren.”

Ev the frenchwoman was our secret ingredient for a fun class dynamic. Wayan lost his cheerful demeanor for half a second when Ev gave a disappointing answer to his question about whether or not she was traveling alone. Sorry, Wayan, but gorgeous, sophisticated Frenchie is on vacation with her hubby. Where is he? Although he hails from a country known for its passionate love affair with gastronomy, he regards eating as nothing more than adding fuel to the body: he is waiting at the hotel for the class to be over. Ev, however, adores food and enthusiastically took notes and asked questions throughout the day. To her obvious delight, Wayan knew lots of French cooking vocab, and I was able to step in and draw shrimp, lemons, and peanuts when he didn’t.

Yes, we made mouth-watering appetizers, mains, snacks, soups and desserts that we could barely pronounce. Yes, the spices danced in our mouths. Yes, the tuna turned out perfect.   Yes the crispy, golden coconut burst with flavor. Yes, Pat was the class champ with his advanced knife skills. Yes, our bellies ached in pleasure by the end of the day. However, these were all expected highlights.

To my pleasant surprise, unexpected lessons in trivia, Balinese culture, flavor profiles, and food-origins filled the air during our chopping, boiling, simmering, sauteing, and eating time. Did you know:

• 

  Candle nuts

  Candle nut, which looks and tastes similar to macadamia, melts when cooking — hence the name. It’s added to base gede (boss-uh guh-day) — the foundation for many Balinese dishes — along with nutmeg, coriander, cloves, pepper, cumin, and sesame. Candle nut can also be used as a kind of heavy-duty hair conditioner.

• The saffron that commands the highest price for its stunning flavor comes from Iran. Don’t go spending your dollars on the tropical saffron. It’s valued locally for the color it adds to food, not the flavor. The Balinese love dying culinary items yellow.

• The price for 50 grams, 1/10lb. or approximately five brewed cups of Luwak coffee , is about $8 here in Bali. Luwak coffee is made from beans that have been eaten by an Asian mongoose and collected from the resulting scat. While some international connoisseurs consider this curious gourmet indulgence well worth the price, locals note that for the same price one can obtain two kilos (4 lbs.) or two hundred cups worth of regular coffee.

• Bali is a great place to be if you’re allergic to gluten. “The only flour we have is cauliflower” says chef Wayan. What do they use to thicken things? Palm sugar and the aforementioned candlenut.

• 

  Tempeh on the left and tofu no the right. (And soybeant themselves – which you can eat out of the steamed pods – in the foreground)

  The Balinese are by no means vegetarians. However tofu and tempeh, two vegetarian products that seem to arouse suspicion and confusion among Western omnivores, make a regular appearance here as a side dish or meal compliment versus as a meat substitute. What is tofu? What is tempeh? They are both soy based products. Says Wayan, “Tofu is made from soybean milk pressed into blocks. Tempe is made from whole soy beans, fermented with active yeast [also pressed into blocks].” In my humble opinion, tempeh is the flavor winner. Other beer and bread lovers would likely agree.

• 

  Most of the mosques in Bali look like this – small and recognizable via their onion-like domes. (This particular mosque is not in Bali – just an internet photo.)

  Muslim presence (Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world) does cause some tension in Bali (one of the few non-Muslim outposts in the country). I found all the Muslims I dealt with personally to be wonderful people. To be fair, I did not grill any Muslims about the Balinese/Hindus. Wayan, one of three Balinese/Hindus whom I asked about the Muslim presence, claimed that “They [the Muslims] won’t buy from anyone who isn’t Muslim.” (Mormon and Jewish communities have the same often earned, often unearned reputation in the U.S.) Ketut, a taxi driver, told me “As the Balinese go abroad for jobs, more Muslims are arriving to fill the low-level positions they leave empty. This is why they are coming.” Putra, my house dad, revealed to me that the local government in Ubud where I live will not issue permits for mosque building. Muslims may build smaller, non-iconic worship centers only.

• 

  Palm sugar at the market

  Coconut palms not only produce lovely coconuts and palm fronds for weaving, they also have flowers whose nectar is solidified into sugar. Halves of coconut shells are used as molds to make brown domes that get stacked high on sugar shelves. The nectar can also be fermented into palm wine. The palm wine can be distilled into arak — a clear alcohol sold locally for $7 packaged in the same kind of plastic bag one might use to carry a goldfish home from the pet store.

• Wayan the chef claims, “Arak not for drinking. Too strong. Only for medicine.” But the boys who staff the complex where I live beg to differ. Where Wayan and most Balinese do agree is on the subject of food as medicine. Many foods are known to make the body “warm.” Roots (ginger, galangal) often feature in healing compresses. About lesser galangal Wayan says, “Use this one, rub every day on the baby head spot, make hard.” With a bit of a background in bones, I’m hard pressed to believe that rubbing a root on a baby’s fontanelle will make the plates of its skull grow and fuse together any faster. But I’m sure it can’t hurt!

• 

  Lesser galangal. See? It doesn’t even look like ginger!

  Lesser galangal and greater galangal are quite different from ginger. With the lesser, the flavors of raw potato and pine came to mind, while greater galangal was more woody, spicy, gingery and also piney. After tasting the two, I can assure you westernized recipes that encourage you to just substitute ginger are robbing your flavor profile. Same goes for the suggestion to substitute actual limes for kaffir lime or kaffir lime leaves. There simply is no substitute. The leaves are subtle and impart all the lime flavor without the lime acid. The kaffir lime itself starts out limey but with such a bitter aftertaste that just a few drops are used in cooking, and only for fish. “It will overpower chicken,” Wayan assures me.

• Not all Balinese are good at bargaining! Shockingly, chef Wayan revealed to us that he hates to bargain. He is “terrible” at it, and never gets a good price. What does he do to get supplies for the cooking class? He sends a friend to the market to bargain for him!

• 

  A powerful little piece of root – peeled, sliced, raw turmeric

  Turmeric will stain more than just food. As mentioned previously, tropical saffron is used to add yellow color to food in Bali. Turmeric is used for the same reason. Wayan lulled us all by first having us sniff the heady, fruity scent given off by the root before daring us to rub it on our teeth. We pupils sported garish smiles for nearly an hour before he revealed the trick of rubbing lime or oil on the turmeric-stained surface to restore its former brilliance.

• All is not lost if you find yourself engulfed in a deluge of lemongrass. Granted this is not a common western problem, but let’s pretend. If this plant, with its soft, dizzying aroma, is overtaking your life – it’s barbecue time! Take pre-ground meat or your food processor to grind the meat you have, use the root end of the lemongrass as a skewer, apply a hunk of meat to the end with a twisting motion to seal it in place, grill, and enjoy a lemon infused piece of heaven!

So, there you have it. Surprise lessons from a Balinese cooking course. May you find excellent sources of lemongrass, kaffir limes, kaffir leaves, lesser galangal, greater galangal, and maybe even candle nut. May you never be scammed into buying tropical saffron thinking it’s Iranian saffron. May you make friends with tofu and tempeh. And may you never, ever be tricked into rubbing raw turmeric on your teeth. ♣

See bitter melon, bees still buzzing on honeycomb for sale, fresh nutmeg, and other market and class time shots in this photo album.