Bali has diverse foods you should not miss. You might be familiar with ayam betutu or babi guling.
However, you will find several extreme dishes in Bali.
From foods made of blood to porcupine meat, here are Bali’s unusual culinary.
- Lawar Merah
Lawar is a traditional food consume by Balinese people in everyday life. It is made of a mixture of vegetables, minced meat, blood, and flavored with a lot of spices.
They usually use pork, chicken meat, and duck meat. The meat and blood used in making lawar should come from the same animal.
There are at least four beliefs Balinese has about lawar; the blood used in making lawar has no bacteria, it could give energy to whoever eats it, ward off evil creatures that are in the body, and this cuisine is also the connector between God and humans.
Ngurah Rai, Kesiman, East Denpasar, Denpasar City. You will find this restaurant easily as it is located on the side of the main road to Padang Galak or Matahari Terbit Beach.
- Lawar Porcupine
You will find and see a lot of ceremonies in Bali, as Balinese maintain the culture. There is one ceremony that requires the sacrifice of the sacred animal, the porcupine is one of them. Hindus in Bali believe in reincarnation, as the soul of the porcupine will come back as a better animal or even a human.
After the ceremony, all parts of porcupine’s body will be used as food material. One of them is lawar porcupine.
This cuisine is made of porcupine meat, vegetables, and of course porcupine’s blood. To add the taste, they use seasonings such as chili, white pepper, black pepper, and bangle.
- Pesan Capung
Next, you will find pesan capung. Capung itself means dragonfly. After catching the dragonfly, they remove the wings. Then, it is mixed with seasonings such as shallot, garlic, turmeric, and salt. After it is mixed, add telengis, the residue in making coconut oil.
The mixture then piles on the banana leaves and is sealed with a small bamboo stick. It is ready to be roasted on a traditional wood-burning stove.
