Bali: Warung Mira (Khas Buleleng)

Bali: Warung Mira (Khas Buleleng)

Warung Mira
(Khas Buleleng)

Warungs SERIES | BALI

Serving Singaraja-style food, this is one of my favourite warungs in Denpasar. An ice-cold es daluman as soon I sit down at Warung Mira hits the spot. The wobbly forest-green drink is a refreshing mash up of daluman leaf jelly (the leaves are soaked in water and then squeezed, the liquid setting overnight from the natural gelatin) and palm sugar with coconut milk.

  A ‘greatest hits’ of some of Bali’s best regional dishes

A belly filler to soak up the chill that’s to come is a good idea, so the tipat cantok is first up. A Balinese take on gado-gado, the green beans, mung bean sprouts, freshly made tofu, crispy fried garlic and ketupat (soft rice cakes cooked in banana leaf parcels to shape them) are all gently mixed with light peanut sauce. It’s a little sweet, spicy and sour all at once. Just like it should be.

Other accompaniments include a super fresh urap with cassava leaf, green beans and fresh grated coconut, and two types of sates , one being soft, unctuous pork belly, the other being babi lilit, with minced pork. The crispy crackling here is generous and just as crunchy as it should be.

OPEN 8.00AM-6.00PM
Jl. Katrangan No.23, Sumerta, Kec. Denpasar Tim., Kota Denpasar, Bali 80239
+62361251040

Jukut undis (black bean soup) is simple and earthy, the broth having a depth and flavour that is usually saved up for its culinary cousin and Indonesia’s soup star, rawon. Scooping the small red-hued beans from the bottle of the bowl and savouring the grittiness of fresh grated coconut in my mouth, it doesn’t take long to disappear.

The rujak is also a winner. Like a savoury and super spicy fruit salad, rough-cut slices of raw green mango, pineapple, cassava, cucumber and sweet potato are all tossed together in a light dressing of shrimp paste, palm sugar, tamarind and chilli. Bali’s much more rustic take on its more famous and only distantly related Thai cousin, som tum.

Other dishes you should definitely try include the serapah babi of pork belly, served with crunchy crackers, and the perfectly executed soto ayam (chicken soup).

The menu is a veritable ‘greatest hits’ of some of Bali’s best regional dishes, so you can’t really go wrong. Try whatever sounds good and see what your favourites are!

Bali: Babi Guling Grenceng (Bali Tulen)

Bali: Babi Guling Grenceng (Bali Tulen)

Babi Guling Grenceng
(Bali Tulen)

Warungs SERIES | BALI

Another great option for lunch is Babi Guling Gerenceng (just a few metres up the road from Tahu Tipat Gerenceng).

  ‘Lesehan’ style seating on rattan floor mats.

The babi guling is good and offers quite a variety of accompaniments to the traditional slow-roasted pork. The paper-lined basket offers up lots of flavours, with young coconut braised in bumbu gede sitting alongside sausage and fried curly intestines (which I quietly pass on).

Other accompaniments include a super fresh urap with cassava leaf, green beans and fresh grated coconut, and two types of sates , one being soft, unctuous pork belly, the other being babi lilit, with minced pork. The crispy crackling here is generous and just as crunchy as it should be.

OPEN 8.00AM-6.00PM
Jl. Sutomo, Pemecutan Kaja, Kec. Denpasar Utara, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80231

The lawar is served two ways: one with fresh pig’s blood to stain it that tell-tale hue of pink, one without (for hygiene reasons). A little too carnivorous for me, I always get it without, and luckily it’s just as delicious that way.

The peak hours are 11:00am-1:00pm when the lunch rush is on, so come early to avoid disappointment. It’s not the same without that crackling!

Balinese Crispy Duck

Balinese Crispy Duck

Balinese
Crispy Fried Duck

Bebek goreng Bali

Easy to cook up

The trick of the tender meat is to marinate and slow cook it for about an hour before deep frying.

While waiting for the duck to marinate, it’s a good idea to prepare the lawar and sambal matah.

Serve the dish with the lawar and top it off with some sambal bajak and sambal matah.

Will Meyrick

portions

hour

Summary

Main Ingredients

  • 1 whole duck, cut into 4 parts
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 pieces salam leaves
  • 2 pieces lime leaves
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
  • Water to just covering the duck
  • Oil to fry

 

Duck Paste

  • 2 cm knob ginger, peeled
  • 2 cm kencur
  • 2 cm knob galangal, peeled
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste, fried
  • ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Hujan Locale’s Bebek Goreng

Lawar Kalasan

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoon kalasan dressing (see below)
  • 1 tablespoon fried shallot
  • 1 tablespoon fried garlic
  • 1 teaspoon fried bird’s eye chilli
  • 1 teaspoon cooked out shrimp paste in vegetable oil
  • A pinch of pepper (to taste)
  • A pinch of salt (to taste)
  • 2 pieces lime leaves, julienned
  • 2 Balinese lime (any lime will do), juiced
  • ½ cup of young jackfruit, boil till half cooked for about 10 minutes & chopped
  • 1 cup of long bean, blanched and small sliced
  • 1/3 cup of hard coconut flesh, grilled, shave the skin and grated

Method

Assembling the lawar kalasan
In a mixing bowl, combine kalasan dressing with fried shallot, fried garlic, fried bird’s eye chilli, shrimp paste and seasoning with salt, pepper and fresh Balinese lime juice. Add in all vegetables and grated grilled coconut flesh. Adjust the seasoning before serving.

A refreshing and kicking Lawar

Kalasan Dressing

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces lime leaves
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 1 piece salam leaf
  • 2 tablespoons bumbu gede Ubud paste (see pantry)
  • 1 cup coconut cream
  • Oil to cook

Method

Heat oil in the pan, fry the paste for about 5 minutes with lime leaf, lemongrass and salam leaf in a low heat. Once the paste is aromatic then add in coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes until reduce by half.

Ingredients for the Bumbu Gede

Bumbu Gede Ubud

Ingredients

  • 1 knob galangal, peeled
  • 1 knob ginger, peeled
  • ¼ cup turmeric, peeled
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup kencur
  • 12 pieces green small chillies
  • ½ cup garlic, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons wewangen (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper

Ingredients to fry

  • 3 pieces salam leaves
  • 2 pieces lime leaves
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • Oil to cook

Method

Chop all ingredients finely, except salam leaves, lemongrass and lime leaves, or blend if not up to doing it traditional way.

Keep half of the bumbu gede Ubud paste once finely chopped to one side for the kalasan dressing.

Heat up some oil in a pan, add in lemongrass, salam leaves and lime leaves, add in the rest of bumbu gede in and saute for 5 minutes until the oil has separated. Set to one side and allow to cool.

Garnish

sprigs of lemon basil
fried shallots

Step by Step Instructions

step 1 : blend

Blend all duck paste ingredients into a fine paste.

step 2 : marinade

Marinate the duck with the paste and set aside for several hours until the paste is absorbed into the duck meat.

step 3 : stir fry

Heat some oil in the sauce pan, put the marinated duck with the paste, salam leaves, lime leaves and bruised lemongrass. Stir well and fry until the duck is coloured and golden brown.

step 4 : pouring

Pour over some water just about to cover the duck, cover your sauce pan with the lid and cook over low heat until the duck meat is tender about 1 hour.

step 5 : cooling

Remove the duck from the pan and allow to cool.

step 6 : second fry

In the new sauce pan, heat some oil over medium heat and then fry the boiled duck until dry and crispy. Remove and drain.

step 7 : dressing

Serve the fried crispy duck on the plate with lawar, sambal bajak and sambal matah.

Selamat Makan

Bon appetit!

Bumbu Merah

Bumbu Merah

Bumbu Merah

Fiery fresh chili spice paste

An Indonesian basic!

Chillies, garlic, shallots and the spice of the coriander seed give this finely pounded paste a superb kick.

You can also try it with a twist of sharp lime juice to serve with grilled or raw marinated fish dishes.

Will Meyrick

portion

minutes

Summary

Ingredients
  • 20gr of red small chilli
  • 300gr of red big chilli
  • 125gr of garlic
  • 80gr of shallot

 

Method

Roughly chop all ingredients then pound to a paste.

Sambal Kecap

Sambal Kecap

Sambal Kecap

Everyday taste of Bali

Everyday Taste of Bali

When you just want that sweet reminder of Balinese food, whip yourself up a Sambal Kecap to drizzle on steamed vegetables, over rice or even on a hamburger. The green chili kick, tempered by the sweetness of the soy sauce will bring the essence of Bali right back! You will find this condiment in each of restaurants, you really can’t serve Indonesian food without it.

Try it with my “Jimbaran Style” recipes:
Grilled fish or grilled squid

Will Meyrick

portion

minutes

Summary

Ingredients
  • 1 piece shallot, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 cup small green chillies, chopped
  • 1 cup sweet soy sauce
  • 1 lime, juiced

 

Method

Simply combine the chopped chillies, soy sauce and lime juice together. This can be kept in airtight container in the refrigeration for several days to use as desired.