BBQ: A great family activity in Bali

East meets west in many instances in Bali, sometimes in conflicts and sometimes on common ground. One of the better instances is the bbq, something that seems to transcend cultural boundaries. Indonesians love sate, which was in fact invented in Java, after influences from the Arab kebab. If you get a chance to sample ayam bakar or ikan bakar (grilled chicken or fish) go for it. A place Ika and I hit quite often is located on Gang Plawa, directly across from Jl. Dhyana Pura. They steam there chicken, then coat it with tumeric creating a yellowish appearance. When someone requests ayam bakar they turn on the electric fan in order to whip the glowing embers of the coconut husks into life. Around 10 minutes later after copious qualities of spicy tangy dark brown sauce have been added, the grilled chicken is ready. Its always cooked and always taste great.

Thinking ahead I am going to have to give the streamed chicken and tumeric a try out at a bbq. Chicken legs generally take a long time to cook due to the bone. Indonesians love chicken legs over the breast as they are chewy. While my in-laws were in town I cranked up the bbq and delivered some chicken legs, fish and giant shrimp. These shrimp were around 6 inches long and I bought them in Bintang supermarket. Not particularly cheap but cheaper than getting them down in a Jimbaran warung. My spicy bbq sauce from Minnesota still working wonders with addictional help from some chili mash from Belize.

Bbq equipment is available at ACE Hardware in Kuta. Its not cheap, approximately double the price ACE sells its gear in the US. You are looking at 1.5m rp for a decent sized charcoal grill. Still once you’ve got that the world is your oyster. With a medium sized cooler trip down to Jimbaran fish market are possible and all that lovely fish. They’ll sell you fish at 10,000rp a kilo, take your pick, tuna, barracuda etc. Thing to bear in mind is the preparation. I prefer fish that are not scaly and without spines, therefore forget snapper. Tuna is easy as is barracuda and other small silver fish. You simply remove the gills, zip them open from stern to bow to remove the guts then butterfly them for simplicity. Tuna you can chop into inch thick steaks which are super easy to cook. I simply place them on a metal tray on the bbq, with some olive oil and some spices. Javanese people love sweet foods, so plaster their corn with honey. Its quite good and after this last batch was near completion, my father in-law decided the whole lot would benefit from a coating of hot sauce. I know one little fellow who enjoyed his.