08 January 2019
Starting a day with the beautiful fresh, tropical fruit of Bali is a definite treat. Exactly what we did today.
Never a dull day when the Burkes are traveling... a little change in plans. Last night Jim and I talked....after our trip to Raja Ampat we are returning to Bali and we were supposed to go north for more beach time BUT we love it here in Ubud so much and after Raja Ampat it will be difficult to compare SO....we've cancelled those reservations and will be coming back here. We contacted Sally to see if she would still need help with Madu but it looks like there is a possibility that a friend will be here...Plan B - we rented a small villa (with a pool) that is about a five minute walk from our current location. We can still feed (and maybe cuddle just a little bit) Madu, if needed. And...we splurged - $50 per night with breakfast included!!
With those plans taken care of, we got ready to be picked up for our cooking class. Thank you Wiwik for making those reservations for us.
We were picked up by Wayan (the owner of the cooking school) at about 230pm and started the drive outside town. We really know nothing more than...it's a cooking class.
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Arriving at Wayan's home compound in the small village of Laplapan (just outside Ubud), we were met by another couple - Ruth and Ollie ..from Ireland. Back into the van and off to the rice fields. Wayan explained the growing and harvesting process of rice. From where we stood, there were still open rice terraces but construction is infringing on much of the rice fields in Bali. Still Wayan's family had their swatch of land used for their family's rice consumption. Thought it may be small, many families do still have their own land.
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Now back to the family compound and we are greeted with a welcome drink - cool tea with ginger and lemongrass???? - tasty on a hot day.
Wayan explained the family compound, who lived there and why. Toward the back of the compound the ground fell away and we were taken down a flight of stairs to the "cooking school" and greeted by Wayan's niece - in -law Made (Ma-day). Big smile and a bit sassy - we knew this would be a good afternoon.
We started by making a traditional offerings. We've taken cooking classes in Indonesia before and though we've been on the receiving end of the offerings - we've never made one. These were made the traditional way, securing the corners of the base with small bamboo sticks - no staplers in this class.
Now..it was food time. Made explained all the food we would be cooking with, the different spices, different methods we would be using - this would be an adventure.
Taking the longest to cook and having three different steps - the Balinese way to cook rice would be our first lesson. Wash the rice, cook in a woven, conical basket with a terracotta cover for about 30 mins, then take off the heat, put in bowl with a little hot water (just to cover), let sit for 15 minutes and then back into the cooker for another 30 minutes ....and the Balinese eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's not Uncle Ben's!!!!
Then on to our other dishes. We made curry chicken, chicken sate, steamed fish in banana leaves, fried tempeh with sweet soy sauce ,Balinese vegetable salad, chicken soup and for dessert (my favorite ..Kue Dadar Guling...saying rolled pancake just doesn't do it justice). We also made a spice mixture and two different sauces...from scratch. "Scratch" meaning pounding the peppers to make sambal, mincing garlic, chilies and shallots until they were a paste. We worked as couples, cooking, stirring, pounding - following the instructions of our fearless leader....
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..... when all was done...and the sun was setting over the brilliant green forest - we ate our delicious creations. Enjoying our dinner, we got to know a little about each other - where we were from, what we did and of course, where we had and they had traveled and where we would be going next. And of course, it is a small world...Ruth's name???? Ruth Burke!!! I guess it was meant to be ????
Ruthie....thanks for pics!!!
This featured blog entry was written by pjburke from the blog It's the Journey....not the Destination.
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