Bali Food : Bebek Betutu

Bali Food : Bebek Betutu (Smoked Duck)


Bebek betutu (roast duck) is one of the most famous dishes in Bali. Balinese people themselves may cook it for a special occasion and its not really an everyday dish. Some restaurants in Bali offer bebek betutu, with the request you order a day in advance, due to the preparation time.

Balinese Roast Duck

Ingredients

• 1 duck, whole
• 18 shallots, peeled
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 stalks lemon grass
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 6 candlenuts
• 2″ ginger, peeled
• 3″ fresh turmeric, peeled
• 3″ kencur, peeled
• 5 Thai chilies
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 2 tsp. shrimp paste
• 1 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. oil
• banana leaves

Instructions

Place the shallots, garlic, lemon grass, candlenuts, ginger, turmeric, kencur, chilies, peppercorns, coriander seeds, shrimp paste, salt and oil in a blender or food processor and grind into a paste. Wipe the duck dry and rub mixture on the outside. Put remainder mixture into the duck cavity. Close the opening of the duck with a satay skewer. Wrap the duck in banana leaves. Wrap this with aluminum foil and puncture several holes in the bottom. Steam the duck for 50 minutes. Put the duck in a roasting pan and roast at 350f until done.

The flavor of this excellent duck will be even better if the final roasting is done over a slow charcoal fire rather than in the oven; be sure to turn the duck several times if cooking over charcoal.

Smoked duck is a Balinese specialty and is usually served only on special occasions. A paste is made of various ingredients (most importantly lemongrass, candlenuts, turmeric, kencur, and shrimp paste) and is spread all over the duck and inside the cavity. It’s then wrapped in banana leaves and roasted until moist. In this case it was served with pakis (fern shoots) and red rice

Here are some of the restaurants, from our travels, worth recommending:

UBUD
Café Jaya (Monkey Forest Rd)
Casa Luna (Jalan Raya)
The Waroeng (Monkey Forest Rd)

SEMINYAK
Hu’u (Jalan Pantai Kaya Aya)
Ku Dé Ta (Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi)
Kuni’s (Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi)
La Lucciola (Jalan Pantai Kaya Aya)
Trattoria (Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi)
Tuesday Pizza Club (Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi)
Warung Murah (Jalan Laksmana/Oberoi)