Finally, the stunning, definitive cookbook from
Australia’s leading authority on Indonesian cuisine.
Bali is one of the most popular travel destinations for New Zealanders and Australians. I think this is due in the main to its warm and welcoming people, a culture rich in tradition and, of course, let’s not forget the mouth-watering food…...We are planning to be back next year to attend the annual Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and I can't wait!
26 years ago, a young woman from Melbourne travelled to Bali, and never quite made it back home. Janet De Neefe fell in love – with the people, the culture, the cuisine and since then, she has been collecting Balinese and Indonesian recipes, teaching local cooking methods and immersing herself in the colour and vibrancy of all that Balinese food has to offer.
Embark on a spice trail with Bali: The Food of my Island Home as Janet explores the daily life and
culture of this much-loved island paradise and its colourful cuisine. Based on the Balinese principle of sharing, several dishes are prepared and eaten together with steamed rice, and this collection of authentic and delicious recipes spans the pillars of Balinese and Indonesian cuisine, exploring spices and sambals, rice dishes, curries and coconut, street food, ceremonial banquets,modern offerings and sweets.
Recipes are accompanied by insights into the local culture, while key Balinese ingredients – such as kencur, candlenuts and shrimp paste – are explained in an extensive glossary. The recipes will surprise and inspire: there are well-known dishes such as Gado Gado and Chicken Satay, while more unusual offerings include Pork Spare Ribs with Tomato Sambal, Minced Prawns and Coconut in Banana Leaves, and Black Rice and Tangerine Tart.
Bali is also an incredible photographic journey. The most arresting images sit alongside the recipes and tell the story of this lush island and its people: the men who collect sea water and leave it to evaporate on volcanic sands in order to harvest salt; the village grandmothers who make enormous rounds of fresh tofu by hand; the teenagers lining up at bustling market stalls for delicious sticks of chicken satay, and the street vendors crouched over grills, fanning billowing coconut-tinged smoke.
An inspiring and personal guide to one of our favourite places and cuisines, Bali will transport you
instantly to the bustling streets and colourful markets of Ubud and surrounds, inspiring you to recreate the tastes from a Balinese warung easily in your own home.
Be seduced by this book (I have been) with its essence of this amazing island – its food, people and culture.
Melbourne-born Janet De Neefe first travelled to Bali in 1974 with her family. She returned 10 years later, fell in love with a local man and decided to make this island her home. She has founded two restaurants in Ubud, Casa Luna and Indus, as well as the famous Casa Luna Cooking School, which attracts hundreds of visitors each year, all eager to absorb the secrets behind Bali’s spicy and fragrant cuisine. De Neefe also founded the annual Ubud Writers’ & Readers Festival.She still lives in Ubud with her husband and their four children.
Bali is her second book, the first being a much more modest publication,a book of memoirs and recipes titled Fragrant Rice. She attended the Auckland Writers &Readers Festival in 2007 around the time of publication of that first book. She was on a panel with Lauraine Jacobs, Julie Le Clerc and Sarah-Kate Lynch.
The publishers have kindly agreed to allow me to include a couple of recipes from the book so I have chosen two that especially appeal to me, (actually everything in the book appealed!).
Haven't tried making them yet.......
JAVANESE TOFU AND SCALLOP CURRY - Opor tahu dan scallop8 scallops
1 teaspoon wet tamarind pulp dissolved by hand in 2 tablespoons water, strained
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 lemongrass stalks, bruised and tied together in a loose knot
3 salam leaves
3 kaffir lime leaves
100 g tofu, cut to a size to match the scallops
250 ml coconut milk
2 tablespoons fried shallots
2 teaspoons grated palm sugar
sea salt
steamed rice, to serve (page 74)
SPICE PASTE
5 candlenuts
3 teaspoons coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon white peppercorns
3 red shallots, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves
2 long green chillies, seeded and roughly chopped
2 small green chillies, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons chopped galangal
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
slice of shrimp paste equivalent to ½ teaspoon
Opor, a dish from central Java, is usually described as a white curry, which somehow does not do justice to its dreamy and alluring fl avour of galangal, ginger and lemongrass combined with mild green chillies. For me, opor is the quintessential Javanese dish: subtle, creamy and aromatic. In this modern
interpretation I have selected scallops to partner tofu to create what I think is a supremely elegant curry. It’s the kind of meal to serve your girlfriends for lunch on a day when you have plenty of time and loads to chat and giggle about – alongside some free-flowing bubbly of course!
Mix the scallops with the tamarind water and set aside to marinate. (The tamarind tenderises the scallops and takes away any fishy flavour.)
Put the spice paste ingredients into a large mortar and pound to a smooth paste. (Alternatively use a blender or food processor, adding a splash of water to get the mixture moving if needed.)
Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and fry the spice paste for 30 seconds. Add the lemongrass, salam leaves and lime leaves and fry for another 20 seconds, or until glossy and fragrant. Strain the scallops (reserving the tamarind water) and throw them into the wok. Toss around until seared, then add the
tofu and toss gently for a few more seconds. Add the tamarind water, coconut milk, fried shallots, palm sugar and some salt and simmer gently for a minute, or until slightly thickened. Taste for seasoning and serve with steamed rice.
Serves 4
FRIED NOODLES WITHCARAMELISED CABBAGE
Mie goreng khol
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 red shallots, finely sliced
8 garlic cloves, finely sliced
3 long red chillies, seeded and finely sliced
2 small red chillies, finely sliced
2 baby leeks or ½ large leek, finely sliced
500 g white cabbage, shredded
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon kecap manis
1 teaspoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
splash of chicken stock or water, if necessary
150 g fresh egg noodles (or cooked dried egg noodles allowed
to dry out a little)
2 tablespoons fried shallots
This is a super-simple dish that we often eat at home. It’s a snack food for us, but you can jazz it up and serve it with meat dishes such as Pork Belly with Balinese Spices (page 182) or throw in some additional ingredients such as tofu, scallops, roast duck or prawns. Personally, I like it just the way it is, and when I feel like a bowl of soft noodles with a bite of chilli, this is what I make.
You can use fresh or dried egg noodles – or even ‘mie instan’ as there’s no need to be snobbish about this one. The intention is that you sit back, relax and enjoy some rustic indulgence. Finish the noodles with a drop of sesame oil, sprinkle with your favourite chopped herbs, or add a teaspoon or two of Fried
Sambal (page 19) for extra kick.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and fry the shallots and garlic for 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the chilli and leek and toss for another 20 seconds. Add the cabbage, sauces and pepper and cook until the cabbage is wilted and soft. If it becomes dry, add some stock or water.
Add the noodles and toss them around until they are thoroughly mixed with the cabbage. You may want to take the wok off the heat while you do this if you are not able to work quickly, and use tongs if you prefer. Then add half the fried shallots and toss the noodles for another minute or two or until cooked through.
Taste for seasoning and add salt or more sauces if needed.
Serve garnished with the remaining fried shallots.
Serves 4
BALI: The Food of my Island HomePan Macmillan Australia - A$59.99
This book, published in an unusually large and interesting format, is one I shall treasure both as a cookbook, and with its hundreds of glorious photographs, as a superb souvenir of happy times spent in Bali. My thanks and congratulations to the author, publisher and all involved in the books design and production. I am proud and delighted to have it on my cookbook shelves.