Wonderful post Shell, and your photos are gorgeous! They say we eat with our eyes first, and you nailed that part of the assignment 😊.
I've been lucky enough to have been to Bali a couple of time years ago and in late 2023 we were in Sri Lanka for the first time (but hopefully not the last!). The food was amazing and I came home with so many spices. Things we can find here, but the quality and flavour so so much better (cinnamon, chili flakes, turmeric etc.)--all highly fragrant.
Thank you for highlighting Lisa's Stack--I will definitely check it out!
What a thoughtful, joyful inspiration! I have bookmarked Lisa’s bumbo and laughed out loud at your story about the kids in the food shop. Just wonderful and I love hearing how it has awakened a sense of adventure in your family. Joy on top of joy!
What a magnificent post Shell, I am thrilled to see you have taken a deep dive into Balinese cuisine, I am so impressed with your commitment to sourcing the ingredients whilst living in the UK, venturing into stores that open new culinary possibilities and bringing it all together into delicious meals. I'm also just delighted to hear your son has taken to the Bumbu flavours, it is such a finely balanced aromatic spice blend, you have opened his culinary world.
You jackfruit cake it a brilliant idea, so perfectly balanced with the brazil nuts and cardamon. You have really captures the aromatic essence of this cuisine Shell, I'm sincerely proud of you.
It's so easy to get into a food rut in family life, but you have stepped out big time, onto the freeway of culinary exploration. Travel in your kitchen and mind when you can't do otherwise, that's my approach.
You have so earnestly and graciously brough my work to life in this Cooking of my Stack Shell, I am deeply grateful for your kind words and support.
Thank you so much Lisa!! It honestly was my absolute pleasure.
It really is so easy to get into a rut. But now I think I will start giving my children little bits of different dishes and slowly widen their tastes. And what a win it will be when they like something! Opening their culinary worlds as you say!
I am so thrilled you like the jackfruit loaf cake too and that I captured the essence of the cuisine!! Huzzah!! ❤️❤️ It really was delicious with the jackfruit, such a wonderful crumb!
I have also found a recipe for pandan leaf cake, so I absolutely MUST find some!
Thank you again Lisa, and for returning the favour by baking my recipes too.
Oh did your son finally unearth the "Mouldy" fish flakes? SO funny! Thanks for including that snippet - think we'll grin for days just thinking of that.
We didn't get a chance to hunt them down so we used katsuobushi (bonito) instead - we normally have that in the pantry and Maldives fish flakes are made from tuna too.
My neighbour used the dried mackerel that she normally adds to fried rice or steamed pork mince as seasoning. The fish is preserved in mei xiang 梅香 style (dried, salted, fermented), so she was able to crumble it up easily for the potato pancakes.
Oh if it helps, an Indian friend says they're also sold as umbalakaḍa, maasi karuvadu or massmin.
What a delightful post! It's so clear that you had loads of fun making Lisa's Balinese and Sri Lankan delectables ☺️.
Amazed that you managed to do it all from scratch in just a few days! We normally do the pastes and other preps earlier in the week, so it's mainly just assembly over the weekend. But as you said, it was worth it 😊 - what a date night feast you must have had.
Hope you have extra Bumbu Butter and Tomato Sambal left over - they're so tasty and versatile, you can use them to supercharge almost anything.
Ever since I passed her the recipe, my neighbour has loaded up her freezer with trays of Bumbu Butter cubes 😝. We've basted char siew with the butter and slathered it over steak tacos as well.
And as you discovered, the Tomato Sambal goes beautifully with eggs. We've also baked mini galettes and grilled tofu with it.
Love your jackfruit segue too - the cake sounds delish 😋! That's the wonderful thing about Lisa's posts - they just fill you with new ideas and inspire you to tinker with things you never thought of trying before.
Oh really?! Ha! You know what, that makes me feel quite relieved. It's quite a bit of work to make the paste and then the curries all in one day. I am pleased to hear it's something spread out over a few days! But I definitely still enjoyed the process and our date night was amazing.
I don't have any of the tomato sambol left unfortunately, but I do have more tamerind so will definitely be making it again!
Oh gosh, that is so lovely about your neighbour. Steak tacos with Bumbu too, what a treat!
I'm so pleased you like the loaf cake too! It was fun to bake with something so different. I was hopeful my Cooking the Stacks project would improve my baking, although I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!
Wonderful post Shell, and your photos are gorgeous! They say we eat with our eyes first, and you nailed that part of the assignment 😊.
I've been lucky enough to have been to Bali a couple of time years ago and in late 2023 we were in Sri Lanka for the first time (but hopefully not the last!). The food was amazing and I came home with so many spices. Things we can find here, but the quality and flavour so so much better (cinnamon, chili flakes, turmeric etc.)--all highly fragrant.
Thank you for highlighting Lisa's Stack--I will definitely check it out!
Thank you so much!
I am envious of your trips and those spices. I would definitely love to try them!
What a thoughtful, joyful inspiration! I have bookmarked Lisa’s bumbo and laughed out loud at your story about the kids in the food shop. Just wonderful and I love hearing how it has awakened a sense of adventure in your family. Joy on top of joy!
Thank you so much Lolly! I am so pleased you enjoyed ❤️
What a magnificent post Shell, I am thrilled to see you have taken a deep dive into Balinese cuisine, I am so impressed with your commitment to sourcing the ingredients whilst living in the UK, venturing into stores that open new culinary possibilities and bringing it all together into delicious meals. I'm also just delighted to hear your son has taken to the Bumbu flavours, it is such a finely balanced aromatic spice blend, you have opened his culinary world.
You jackfruit cake it a brilliant idea, so perfectly balanced with the brazil nuts and cardamon. You have really captures the aromatic essence of this cuisine Shell, I'm sincerely proud of you.
It's so easy to get into a food rut in family life, but you have stepped out big time, onto the freeway of culinary exploration. Travel in your kitchen and mind when you can't do otherwise, that's my approach.
You have so earnestly and graciously brough my work to life in this Cooking of my Stack Shell, I am deeply grateful for your kind words and support.
Thank you so much Lisa!! It honestly was my absolute pleasure.
It really is so easy to get into a rut. But now I think I will start giving my children little bits of different dishes and slowly widen their tastes. And what a win it will be when they like something! Opening their culinary worlds as you say!
I am so thrilled you like the jackfruit loaf cake too and that I captured the essence of the cuisine!! Huzzah!! ❤️❤️ It really was delicious with the jackfruit, such a wonderful crumb!
I have also found a recipe for pandan leaf cake, so I absolutely MUST find some!
Thank you again Lisa, and for returning the favour by baking my recipes too.
It has been such a delight!
Oh did your son finally unearth the "Mouldy" fish flakes? SO funny! Thanks for including that snippet - think we'll grin for days just thinking of that.
We didn't get a chance to hunt them down so we used katsuobushi (bonito) instead - we normally have that in the pantry and Maldives fish flakes are made from tuna too.
My neighbour used the dried mackerel that she normally adds to fried rice or steamed pork mince as seasoning. The fish is preserved in mei xiang 梅香 style (dried, salted, fermented), so she was able to crumble it up easily for the potato pancakes.
Oh if it helps, an Indian friend says they're also sold as umbalakaḍa, maasi karuvadu or massmin.
Haha, glad you found that funny! We actually went for bonito flakes in the end too. The lady in the shop said it was similar.
Ooh, this is fascinating, thank you. I am wondering if I can fashion a 'Cooking the Stacks' from what I've learned from our conversations!
Haha! With sort of a Wacky Fusion theme? 😂
Sounds brilliant 😃
Gee, I really admire your ENERGY!
What a delightful post! It's so clear that you had loads of fun making Lisa's Balinese and Sri Lankan delectables ☺️.
Amazed that you managed to do it all from scratch in just a few days! We normally do the pastes and other preps earlier in the week, so it's mainly just assembly over the weekend. But as you said, it was worth it 😊 - what a date night feast you must have had.
Hope you have extra Bumbu Butter and Tomato Sambal left over - they're so tasty and versatile, you can use them to supercharge almost anything.
Ever since I passed her the recipe, my neighbour has loaded up her freezer with trays of Bumbu Butter cubes 😝. We've basted char siew with the butter and slathered it over steak tacos as well.
And as you discovered, the Tomato Sambal goes beautifully with eggs. We've also baked mini galettes and grilled tofu with it.
Love your jackfruit segue too - the cake sounds delish 😋! That's the wonderful thing about Lisa's posts - they just fill you with new ideas and inspire you to tinker with things you never thought of trying before.
Thank you so much!
Oh really?! Ha! You know what, that makes me feel quite relieved. It's quite a bit of work to make the paste and then the curries all in one day. I am pleased to hear it's something spread out over a few days! But I definitely still enjoyed the process and our date night was amazing.
I don't have any of the tomato sambol left unfortunately, but I do have more tamerind so will definitely be making it again!
Oh gosh, that is so lovely about your neighbour. Steak tacos with Bumbu too, what a treat!
I'm so pleased you like the loaf cake too! It was fun to bake with something so different. I was hopeful my Cooking the Stacks project would improve my baking, although I didn't expect it to happen so quickly!
The ideas just keep rolling in, don't they? 😝