15 Traditional Food in Bali Indonesia

Tasting the food in Bali is a must. The island offers a wide array of dishes with rich flavour. The kind of food that one has to try is the traditional ones. Not only for the taste but also for more insight to Bali’s culture.

There is a lot that goes into a food including the ingredients, the preparation and the occasions. That’s why you need to get to know these 15 Traditional Food in Bali Indonesia. Take a look at some of the food that are authentic to Bali.

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1. Babi Guling

A very well known traditional food in Bali is Babi Guling. The word babi means pig in Indonesia while guling is rolling. So the name of this dish reflects the way the pig is cooked.

It is basically a whole pig that is rolled over a fire. What makes this dish delicious is all the spices and herbs that are already put on the pig. Other than that, it also releases some grease which enhance the flavour even more.

Also read: Kinds of Food Served in Bali

2. Urutan

Urutan is another dish that includes a pig. Specifically, the intestines of a pig is used. The intestines are filled with fats, minced meat and all sorts of spices. The meat that is used in this dish is usually pork.

However, the meat from chicken, duck or even fish are sometimes used as well. The food looks like huge sausages that are ready to be devoured.

Read more: Street Foods Seminyak Bali

3. Bubur Injin

Bubur Injin is basically a black rice porridge. It’s made with black glutinous rice and white glutinous rice.

The contrast makes for rich texture, the black glutinous rice is always more chewy than the white ones. The different colours are also interesting to look at.

The porridge is often served with some coconut milk and grated palm sugar. It is then finished off with some slices of fresh jackfruit or some pandan leaves.

4. Betutu

Betutu is a traditional food that is cooked for many hours. It may even take up to a day to cook it.

The main star of this food is usually a whole duck but sometimes a whole chicken is used too. Lots of different herbs and spices are used to make the duck very tasty.

Balinese often stuff it with ginger, shallots, lemongrass and peanuts. The whole duck is first steamed and then grilled thoroughly. The result is a pleasant, tender meat.

Also read: Street Food in Kuta

5. Bubur Mengguh

This next dish is another food that is mainly made up of porridge. It is served with a hearty chicken broth. Not only that, you can find shredded chicken meat, fresh celery and roasted peanuts that crunch in your mouth.

Once in a while, Bubur Mengguh comes with a small serving of urap which is steamed vegetables. Grated coconut are spread on top of the porridge. Bubur Mengguh is an important food to many ceremonies or any other traditional events in Bali. They are given to the people who attend these occasions.

6. Sate Plecing

Plecing is a chili sauce that is authentic to Bali. It is made with fresh chili, tomato, lime, salt, sugar, scalion, garlic and shrimp paste.

All of those will be mixed together traditionally by hand using a mortar and a pestle. So Sate Plecing is a satay dish slathered with the plecing chili sauce instead of the usual sweet, peanut sauce. It’s a hot dish that with a lot of flavour.

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7. Tipat Blayag

Tipat Blayag is a food with rice cake or locally known as ketupat as its star. It is made by steaming rice inside individual palm pouch.

White rice is often used but some people also like to make it with black rice. All the spices and herbs that go into this dish are first roasted on fire to get that smoky flavour.

Tipat Blayag is often served with soybeans, vegetables, grated coconut, shredded chicken, fried chicken feet, chicken skin crackers and shrimp paste chili sauce.

8. Jukut Ares

Jukut Ares is a very traditional food in Bali. During certain certain ceremonies, this dish is always made by the people together.

They also eat it with one another. The main ingredient for the food is a young bark of a banana tree. They are then cut up and cooked into a soup. Bones from chicken, duck or pig are put into the soup for richer taste.

See more: Traditional Food in Central Java

9. Bagiak

Bagiak is a light food that is very common in Bali. It is made from roasted sago. The texture of this food is very crunchy and crisp.

The taste is also just right, not too sweet but not too bland either. A lot of people often look for this food as a snack for their day. They like to eat it with a cup of warm tea or coffee. Many also purchase it as a souvenir from Bali.

Also see: Popular Snacks in Indonesia

10. Rujak Bulung

Rujak Bulung is a traditional food that is nice to eat during a hot day in Bali. It’s a Balinese salad that is made with seaweed.

The seaweed is first boiled for a couple of minutes. To retain its chewiness, it is then soaked into iced water.

Rujak Bulung is often served with grated coconut and a bit of tuna broth. Some Balinese like to add chili sauce into it.

11. Pie Susu

Pie Susu is a delicious milk pie that is very typical from Bali. The size is small and is usually packaged individually in plastic.

The original taste of this pie is milk. However, some brands do offer many other flavours to try. They include cheese, blueberry and chocolate. People from all over Indonesia love this traditional food and always buy it in bulk when they come to Bali.

Read more:

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12. Rujak Kuah Pindang

The word pindang refers to the method of fish preservation in Indonesia where salt is added. So for Rujak Kuah Pindang, the salted fish is first cooked and the broth is extracted.

The broth is then used to make a salad that consist of young mangoes that are sour, water apple, pineapple, apple, jicama, ambarella and salak. The taste of this dish is salty, sour and quite spicy if chili is added.

Also see: Common Fruits in Indonesia

13. Sate Kakul

Sate Kakul is simply snail satay. The small snails are grilled. As for their meat, they can be quite chewy.

Satay kakul is served with warm, white rice and, of course, chili sauce. In Bali, you can find the most delicious ones in Ubud or Gianyar.

Many locals are fond of this affordable dish. They like to eat it with beer or with some Jukut Ares.

14. Pia Legong

You can only find Pia Legong in Bali. It is a type of small pastry with various fillings. They include mung beans, cheese and chocolate.

The outside texture of the pia is crisp with soft filling that create a perfect contrast. What makes them special is the fact that they are still traditionally handmade even in large amount. They don’t rely on machines as they believe that it would change the taste of the pie.

Read more: Indonesian Vegetarian Food

15. Brengkes

Brengkes is made with steamed, salted fish. The fish will be wrapped inside a fresh banana leaf neatly.

After that, it is then grilled until it is fully cooked. There are a lot of herbs and spices to make this food taste delicious. Other than the meat of a fish, people would also make Brengkes using pork, beef or eel.

See also: Rules for Tipping in Bali

You can find all this traditional food all over Bali. Enhance your experience in the island through all the unique cuisines that you won’t find anywhere else in the world.