Spicy, but nice

Breakfast this morning was a real surprise. As I have mentioned before, I have told the kitchen that I am happy to eat anything they feel like preparing. Variations on eggs, including plump, vegetable-filled omelettes, nasi goreng, pancakes - every day is different.

But this morning, presented on a banana leaf, was a proper Balinese breakfast of burbur sayur, or vegetable rice porridge. I didn't have the camera, and I can't find an image that even gets close to how it appeared when unwrapped, so you will have to trust me that it looked wonderful.

Wayan had stopped at a roadside stall on her way to work to purchase this very typical Balinese breakfast for us. Glutinous rice, mixed with green vegetables and garnished with a delicious, but on-the-hot-side spicy paste, it tasted as good as it looked. The banana leaf was parcelled into a triangle fastened with a toothpick*, and the texture of the dish was such that it could easily be eaten with the hands, as Balinese people do.

Roadside stall holders can be seen everywhere throughout the day and night. They seem to specialise: some sell sweet cakes, others bakso** and tofu dishes, still others cool drinks made from fresh young coconuts. Prices are so cheap that almost everyone can afford to buy and so the wheels of the economy keep turning.

Bumbu, or the particular spice mixes, are what distinguish Balinese food from the rest of Indonesia. Everyday food is as simple as our breakfast this morning. Families will do their cooking in the morning and eat throughout the day as needed. The food will not necessarily be served warm, but it is likely to be spicy. Ceremonial food is a different story and preparation is usually done by the men, starting before dawn, for big occasions. No expense is spared. Typical Balinese dishes include

• lawar
• babi guling
• sate lilit
• betutu
• sayur urab
• burbur injin

There are many cooking schools that offer morning or afternoon cooking classes that usually involve a trip to the market as well. Janet deNeefe's book, The Food of My Island Home is an excellent kitchen companion.

When eating out, you soon learn which places have your favourite version of any dish. In my experience, it's usually the first one you try that sets the benchmark for any others.

So thanks to Wayan for her breakfast gift this morning, which has served as the inspiration for today's post.

*The image has come from flickr, the food cart on a rainy day is mine, taken from the car.
**Indonesian, rather than specifically Balinese food