Around the World in 80 Dinners - Bill Jamison [21]
At this point Nyoman’s father drops by briefly to smile a warm greeting and shake hands with Bill. Nyoman says, “No one else in my family speaks any English, but all of them are grateful for you coming to our home.”
He steps inside and brings out two large bottles of local Bintang beer and three glasses, along with bowls of peanuts and crispy crackers that resemble fried wonton wrappers dusted with dried chile. After we drink, nibble, and talk awhile, his wife appears from the kitchen with a tray of fish sate lilit. She acts demurely welcoming and amiable, but Nyoman doesn’t introduce her by name and she never joins us. The vigorously spiced sate tastes terrific.
She returns again a little later with the bebek betutu. Residents always refer to it as smoked duck because it’s cooked slowly over a wood fire, but like our hostess, most cooks wrap it in banana leaves so that it actually steams. She seasons the skin nicely in this version, and prepares the bird whole, leaving his head drooping around his neck. She stuffs the cavity, à la turkey dressing, with a lawar that’s predominantly jackfruit with shredded coconut. Dessert is her rendition of bubur injin. She boils down the rice pudding into a sticky candy mixture and then spreads it inside corn husks, which to us resemble miniature tamales. The young Wayam ventures out timidly at this point and eats the sweets by the fistful.
It’s a wonderful evening, delighting us again with the people of Bali. It’s usually seemed to us in our travels that almost everyone is friendly, even in places where others talk about rudeness (such as Paris) or caprice (say, Mexico), but we’ve never encountered before this kind of self-effacing generosity of spirit. It’s what we’ll remember the most about our visit, the truly tender people. Their extraordinary level of human care and kindness provides a perfect, love-affirming blessing for honeymoon number two.
THE NITTY-GRITTY
ULUN UBUD RESORT AND SPA
www.ulunubud.com
Jln. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud
62-361-975-024 fax 62-361-975-524
A beautiful retreat with bargain rates.
I NYOMAN RUSMA
Ubud
fax 62-361-975-073
An astute driver, guide, and painter.
BUMBU BALI
Jln. Monkey Forest, Ubud
62-361-976-698
Lunch, dinner, and cooking classes.
FOUR SEASONS RESORT
www.fourseasons.com/sayan
Sayan, Ubud
62-361-977-577
The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
AMANDARI
www.amanresorts.com
Kedewatan, Ubud
62-361-975-333
The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
IBU OKA
Jln. Suweta
Across from the Tourist Office and Palace, central Ubud (no reservations)
Serves lunch only until the roasted pig is gone.
Fish Sate Lilit
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN SATE
Lemongrass stalks, enough to make 2 dozen 6-to 8-inch skewers, plus 1 longer stalk to use as a basting brush
3 medium shallots
2 to 4 fiery small fresh red or green chiles, such as Thai chiles, seeds removed, or 1 fresh red or green serrano chile
6 plump macadamia nuts
3 fresh ginger “coins,” sliced ¼ inch thick
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon palm sugar, turbinado sugar, or dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons Southeast Asian shrimp paste or fish sauce
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 kaffir lime leaf, finely chopped or crumbled
¾ pound mild-flavored but somewhat firm white fish fillets, such as snapper
¼ pound peeled shrimp
1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ to ½ cup coconut milk
A few additional tablespoons of coconut oil or vegetable oil
Cut about a half-dozen ¼-inch deep notches into the top 3 inches of each lemongrass skewer to help the fish mixture absorb the herb’s flavor. Make a basting brush from the longer lemongrass stalk, first cutting off about ½ inch of the hard fibrous knob end of the stalk. Discard the knobby end. Give