A secret Bali spice paste is at the heart of this feast
This chef is fighting to save Bali's ancient culinary traditions.
A lantern-lit path casts its spell as we follow it to the entrance of Sokasi restaurant and cooking school. Before taking our seats around a table carved out of andesite stone, we meet head chef Wayan "Suta" Sutariawan, who is toiling over a fire. The charcoal hisses as Suta bastes the babi galung (suckling pig) for the penultimate course of celeng guling served with cassava leaves and crisp crackling.
"Babi galung is an important part of any Balinese feast," says Suta, who leads us back into the open-air restaurant, on the Ayung River at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, Ubud. There are earthy arrangements of flowers on the table, as well as bunches of herbs and fresh produce, much of which is sourced from the resort's own garden. "Welcome to Chef's Table," smiles Suta.
The interactive dining experience starts with Suta pounding ginger, candlenuts, lemongrass and galangal before adding dry spices, and grinding the mixture into a paste for base genep (thousand spice paste). The cooking demonstration is peppered with personal anecdotes Suta shares about his childhood in the Klungkung regency of Bali. "My dad died when I was 11 so I went to live with my auntie ... [she] taught me to make this paste, so it is special to my heart."
The base genep also forms the foundation for three of the dishes Suta has curated for our seven-course dinner: ayam timbungan (chicken baked in bamboo); jagung pangang (corn with a tomato and chilli relish) and claypot duck with lawar (fern-shoot salad). He talks us through the process of making base genep and coconut oil from scratch, and explains why he is dedicated to preserving these age-old traditions. "Bali is known for its beaches, but there are more than 17,000 islands [in Indonesia]. My goal is to take guests on a culinary journey around the islands to show the diversity of dishes. Base genep is a great place to start a conversation about Indonesian cuisine because it is at its heart." fourseasons.com/sayan
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