Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Balinese Black Rice Pudding - Bubu

So I recently came back from Bali in Indonesia. And let me just tell you that aside from all the beauty and culture of the island of Bali that you can't help but be in love with when you go there, the food is also glorious! The Balinese eat mostly fresh fruit, rice, vegetables, tempe, curry, chicken and pork. Dishes like Nasi Champur and Gado-Gado are delicious! Of course when I was there I wanted to find out what Balinese sweets were like. I came upon this dish called Black Rice Pudding, which is described as black rice and palm sugar in coconut milk. IT WAS AWESOME! I then proceeded to eat black rice pudding every chance I got. I probably had it about four times during the week I was there...so I had a pretty good idea of what it should taste like. However, it wasn't until my last night in Bali, when we had a traditional Balinese dinner with a family friend at his family's compound, that I truly experienced the ultimate black rice pudding. The wife of our family friend had been told that I really loved this dessert so she made it especially for me for this dinner, which was so incredibly nice of her considering she had never met me until that night. Her black rice pudding could change lives...it was that good! I had two cups of it after having a rather large helping of dinner and would have had more except I had to be able to walk home (and I was slowly slipping into food comatose of the most glorious nature). It was such an amazing experience to go to a traditional Balinese dinner, making it a very special last night in Bali. I highly recommend that you all buy your ticket to Bali immediately so you can try their black rice pudding, among other amazing things you will experience there. I know normally I just give you and address located somewhere in Boston that you can easily get to if you live here....but let me tell you, the rice pudding is worth the flight. Trust me on this one!