Balinesian Cooking Class

Veggie Lady at the Singaraja Market

The Lonely Planet Guide recommends a Balinesian cooking class as one of the things to do here in Lovina.  I called the restaurant, Warung Bambu, and they were able to take us the following day.   

The Bean, Chile, Shallot, Coconuts, and Garlic Lady

They picked us up at the beach at 8AM and we went to the Singaraja Market where our instructor, Adi, explained about the food and spices that we'll be using.  Of course, we picked up a few things for ourselves.

Adi, Niki, and Booker at Wok (pun intended)

Veggies needing to be chopped

We went to the restaurant and were given a list of meals that we could choose from.  When we arrived in Kupang, we were such novices.  What were all these strange names of things.  But now, we are not new to Indonesian food and know what we like.  From the list we chose:

Vegetable Spring Rolls (Lumpia Sayur)

Tofu stuffed with Vegetables (Tahu Isi)

Balinese Vegetable Curry (Kare Sayur)

Vegetables in Peanut Sauce (Gado-Gado)

Vegetables with Grated Coconut and Balinese Spices (Uraban)

Fried Noodles with Vegetables (Mie Goreng Sayur)

Mashing the ingredients to make Curry Paste (Bumbu)

 

Spring Rolls ready to get cooked

Peanut Sauce Curry with veggies (Gado-Gado)

Curry Paste almost ready

We were given a folder with the ingredient list for each dish.  We washed up, put on our hats and aprons and headed for the kitchen.  Niki was the chef helping us with the cooking.  She showed us how to chop the different vegetables and then we chopped piles of carrots, cabbage, beans, leeks, shallots, celery, chilis, garlic, pineapple, onions, tomatos, and cucumber.  All the cooking was done in coconut oil in a wok over propane.   

Making Coconut Milk from scratch

We made the Bumbu (Curry Paste) from scratch.  Actually, everything was made from scratch and made to order.  After we made all our dishes, we got to eat them in the restaurant and had plenty left over to take back to the boat.

Way too much food to eat

Rice in a banana leaf

The restaurant, Warung Bambu, is owned by a German lady, Beate Dotterweich.  This is the first place in Indonesia that we have seen that is doing recycling and composting.  The trash problem in Indonesia is huge and there is way too much plastic floating in the sea.  We would recommend the Warung Bambu for lunch or dinner even if you don't take the cooking class.

Our class folder

Spring Rolls (above) and Stuffed Tofu (below)

Our Instructor, Adi

http://warung-bambu.mahanara.com/