Be Guling (Suckling Pig)

Description:
OVERVIEW:
If there's just one dish that people remember after a visit to Bali, it's this famous delicacy, usually known by its Indonesian name, Babi Guling.



Ingredients:
1 suckling pig, weighing about 6-8kg
1½ tbsp salt
200 shallots, peeled and sliced
100 gr cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
50 gr ginger, peeled & chopped
300 gr candlenuts, chopped
350 gr fresh turmeric, peeled &chopped
3 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
80 gr laos, finely chopped
120 gr bird's-eye chilies, sliced
10 stalks lemon grass, finely sliced
1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
1 tsp dried shrimp paste, roasted
5 fragrant lime leaves, finely shredded
2 salam leaves
2½ tbsp oil
4 tbsp turmeric water


Directions:
PREPARATION:
Ensure inside of suckling pig is completely cleaned out. Season inside and outside with salt. Combine all other ingredients, except turmeric water, and mix thoroughly. Fill inside of suckling with mixture, close belly with string or thin satay skewer. Rub the outside of the pig with turmeric water until the skin is shiny yellow.

Place suckling pig on roasting rack and roast in hot oven (220°C / 425°F) for approximately 1 hour. Rest for 10 minutes in warm place before serving. When serving, first remove the crisp skin with a strong carving knife, then loosen meat from the bones and cut into even dice or slices. Place a heaped tablespoon of stuffing on each serving plate, and then top with meat and skin. Traditionally this dish is eaten with Jukut Nangka Mekuah and steamed rice.

Helpful hint: If you have a large barbeque with rotisserie or constantly turning spit, you can cook the pig over charcoal for an authentic Balinese flavor.

Babi Pongteh (braised pork with bamboo shoots)

Description:

This is not the prettiest of dish but I can assure you it's one of the tastiest. I obtain this recipe from Sylvia Tan's Mad about Food: (Mis) Adventures in the Kitchen. I used to read her columns about food on the Singapore's The Sunday Times which was always passionately written.

I tweak the recipe a little (below is my version and not verbatim from the book) due to a few findings:
a. always brown the meat separately before stewing to ensure that the meat remains tender
b. I can't find the preserved brown soy beans (or tau cheow) so I use Lee Kum Kee's black bean sauce instead to a similar but thicker and richer taste.

The dish is best left in the fridge for a few days before being consumed. With fragrant, hot, steaming white rice, it is my comfort food after a hard day of work.

Ingredients:
200 - 300 gram of lean pork
1 can of winter bamboo shoots
5-6 dried shitakee
1 cup hot water
vegetable oil
3 teaspoon preserved brown soy beans (or to taste)
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of chopped shallots
1 cup water (Or less depending on taste. I like mine a little thick)
pinch of sugar
whole chilies (ends snapped) to taste - optional

Directions:
Wash the pork and cut into chunky pieces.
Cut winter bamboo shoots into same-sized wedges.
Soak the dried shitakee in hot water until softened. Drain but reserve the soaking water.
Halve or quarter the softened mushroom.

Brown the pork pieces to seal the juice.