Balinese massage…on a duck.

The beautiful lobby of Honeymoon Guesthouse 2, where we took our cooking class.

Last week in Ubud, Bali we decided to take a cooking class at Casa Luna, one of the best restaurants in Ubud. The owner, Janet DeNeefe, has been in Bali for over 25 years and wrote a gorgeous cookbook called ‘Bali: The Food of My Island Home,’ which sadly didn’t fit our budget or our backpacks. They have the most delightful bakery in town and are well known for running a fantastic cooking school. You know we can’t resist a good cooking class.

A traditional rice steamer.

The Sunday Twilight Smoked Duck course didn’t disappoint. This style of smoked duck, known as Bebek Betutu in Balinese, is a very traditional dish prepared for ceremonies and important events. We have sampled this dish a handful of times at various restaurants around town and were dying to learn how it’s made.

Some of the spices used in Balinese cooking, it gets a bit complicated.

The course started off with a thorough introduction to the numerous spices that make Balinese food so unique. There are 3 different types of ginger that are integral to Balinese cuisine, one of which I had never even heard of before. Does anyone know what the heck “White tumeric” is?  Neither do we, but the moment we smelled it, a light went off in both of our heads; Kencur, as the Balinese call it, is the common thread in all Balinese Food. It smells earthy and somewhere between mild ginger and tumeric. Let’s hope we can find it at home.

Our duck, waiting to be smothered with spices.

We ground up these spices with a mortar and pestle. My lovely mother hauled home a miniature version for our kitchen. 🙂

It eventually became clear that to recreate this dish at home would require a few creative substitutions. However, massaging the little duck carcass with the spices, wrapping it up in a Betel tree bark, and smoking it under a burning pile of rice husks made for a highly entertaining cooking class. The photos are not exactly ideal, given the class began at Sunset – but our trusty iPhones delivered some decent low-light shots.

All ready to be wrapped up and smoked overnight.

The package is covered with a clay pot and buried beneath rice husks.

The fire is started with kerosene doused coconut shells. Once lit, the rice husks burn all night.