Bali Market Tour with A Local Chef | 跟巴厘岛大厨逛市场

Hey Hivers, it's #MarketFriday again! This time let's visit a market in Bali, Indonesia. When I was on the island years ago, I joined a cooking class, and this market visit was the first part of the program.

又到“周五市场”时间啦~ 这次请跟随我的脚步，到印尼巴厘岛的一处市场看看。我当时报名参加了一个烹饪课程，早上先跟着认证的大厨去当地一个市场，边逛边讲解巴厘岛本土食材，同时买齐需要的，中午再去一家传统大宅子，参观建筑并在那里教我们做菜。一天下来，收获满满，特别开心。:D

这个大市场里除了售卖品种丰富的热带蔬果香料和印尼特色食物烤乳猪、素肉天贝等，还有零食点心、鲜花贡品、鱼鸟宠物等五花八门的小东西，有些我也叫不上名字。跟着渊博又耐心的大厨向导学到不少巴厘菜肴的香料知识，很有意思。

作为喜欢做饭的吃货，到了有美食特色的地方，如果时间允许，我都会尽量找当地厨师学学烹饪。民以食为天，在我看来，饮食是了解在地文化不可或缺而又充满乐趣的一面。

In the morning, a certified Balinese cook brought us to a local market in Gianyar to buy fresh ingredients. Later, we would visit a traditional house and learn to cook a multi-course meal there. It's an awesome rewarding experience that I highly recommend. I believe it's a great way to get to know the local culture, plus you learn new culinary skills in cooking some healthy and delicious Balinese food!

I will write about the second part of the charming courtyard and fun cooking in my future post, as the doses of food and photos I saw/took in the market is already overflowing for this post! Also, it's MarketFriday today. :) So, let's start with the famous specialty in Bali, the Babi Guling. This poor roast suckling pig was put near the entrance, and it's the first thing I saw there:

Babi Guling, literally “turning pig”, is typically stuffed and infused with spices and slow-roasted on a hand-turned spit over an open fire. You can find this tasty meat in a lot of warungs in Bali where locals go for a quick meal. I loved it and had it many times when staying on the island for over a month. The way it's presented here looked a bit scary though, reminding me of Cuy, the roasted guinea pig in Peru.


There are also BBQ meat skewers close to the stand:

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One amazing thing about the tropics is the wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs:

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The lovely knowledgeable chef explained to us the typical Balinese ingredients, and we bought some along the way for later use, including chayote, lemongrass, kafir lime, turmeric and galangal...

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Tempe/tempeh is a traditional soy product you can easily find in Indonesia including Bali. It's usually in the form of a compact soybean cake, seen in the first photo below. Tempe is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process. Rich in proteins of plant origin, it's a popular snack as well as a staple for many vegetarians. It can be prepared the same way as Tofu, which I will talk about in my next cooking post, and I also enjoyed the crispy fried slices as snacks.

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If you have been to Bali, you must have noticed the flower offerings there. Called Canang Sari, they are a way of everyday life on the island. The locals arrange the flower petals that symbolize different gods and place them in dried palm leaves. They then bless the offerings with a douse of holy water. Fresh flowers are also used as decoration when serving meals. I saw plenty across the market:

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Besides, there were handicrafts, fish, birds, and other stuff that I couldn't even name for sale at the market. The outdoor market was quite extensive and open to the streets where I could also have a peek at the local life and architecture. I truly enjoyed wandering around the lively place with the expert chef as a guide. Hope you like the tour too! :)

^{All content by @itchyfeetdonica
图文 by Donica}

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