Bebek Betutu (Balinese Roast Duck)

March 14, 2014
What happened on Saturday 8th March, has left us numb, speechless, devastated and sad. 

Lets take a moment and say our prayer…

 that the MIGHTY one will help ease the pain the families are going through in this trying time. 
we hope and pray that they survive this catastrophe,
please … please lead them home to the waiting arms of their loved ones, 
and if it should be otherwise, 
please… please… send us some 'sign', some 'indication', at least something… 
so that the waiting families can have a closure to what happened to their loved ones on board.

aameen….

_______________________________________________________________


Bebek-Betutu-recipe

'Mom, what would you like for your birthday cake?' 
'Mom, what would you like for your birthday presents?

… questions... questions I get, as my BIG day approaches…

Million dollar questions…and as always… I do not know.
As I am inching towards half century, I noticed my "want" list is getting shorter!  If I were to rewind the clock to 30 years ago, my 'want' list could have tens of pages long… 
What else can I say: Age is stretching, list is shrinking!
… birthdays are about making memories with loved ones... 

Balinese-Roast-Duck

….  this Balinese Roast Duck or Bebek Betutu I loved to say Bebek Betutu again and again…. it has a lovely intonation to it and so is the taste :) was cooked to perfection by my better half 

...and as to the question of my choice of cake? 
...I wanted a "cake"  … a PANcake would be perfect!!! 
unfortunately, no one heed my request  

Birthday cake

Yes…. I am counting my blessings … I have been given another year to celebrate with my loved ones. 


Indonesian roast Duck

Bebek Betutu

(Balinese Roast duck in Banana Leaves)
adapted with changes from SBS- Food Safari
Click to Print recipe 

1 x 2kg duck (Luv-a-duck)
200g baby spinach, washed
1 cinnamon stick
banana leaves (I use frozen) - enough to wrap the duck (clean and wipe dry)
Seasoning paste
180g shallots
40g garlic
15g candlenuts
10g shrimp granules (belacan)
25g galangal (frozen was used here)
15g ginger
12g frozen turmeric (use fresh if available)
5g dried chillies
60g minced lemongrass (frozen is used in this recipe)
25g palm sugar
4g freshly grinded black peppercorn
8g coriander seeds, dry roast in a pan and ground
3 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoon water
3 teaspoon salt (or season to suit your taste)
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
2 bay leaves
bamboo skewer or tooth pick
  1. Pre heat oven to 180 C
  2. Wash and clean the duck cavity. 
  3. Pat dry with kitchen paper and put aside.
  4. Blend all the ingredients in the seasoning paste to a smooth paste.
  5. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil in a wok and fry the paste for 5 minutes. 
  6. Leave it to cool. 
  7. Season the whole duck, inside out with half of the seasoning. 
  8. Mix the other half of seasoning with spinach and stuff into the cavity with cinnamon stick.  
  9. Use bamboo skewer (tooth pick) to close up the opening of the duck. 
  10. Wrap the duck with banana leaves and foil.
  11. Roast in the oven for 1 1/2 hour then turn down the oven temperature to 120C for further 1 hour. 
  12. Unwrap the foil and banana leaves to brown the top of the duck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Indonesia hosted by Alice from I Love. I Cook. I Bake
SaveSave

Comments

  1. Hi Lisa
    Yeap, it has been devastating to learn of the incident of MH370. 7 days has passed and still no where the the plane is....kind of frustrating.

    Wow, your better half cook this delicious duck on your birthday? How lucky. I think your birthday list getting shorter because nothing is more precious and important to have your family safe and healthy at all times. Happy Bday to you. Stay beautiful as always!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A tragic event...

    That roast dusk looks mighty scrumptious! What a beautiful dish.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Not knowing is just terrible...:-((
    I wish my husband can cook too. That's a beautiful roasted duck dish, Lisa. Happy Birthday!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Terrible what happened with MH730. We can only hope that something comes to light soon.

    On a different note, many happy returns! Enjoy your cake.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My heart is so shattered for the friends/families of the people on MH370. Such a devastating turn of event lots of thought and prayers from the nation and the rest of the world goes out to them. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe (I love love cooking duck) whilst giving us a chance to give a moment of silence for them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so speechless with whats happened to MH 370
    happy belated bday to u, so lucky u have a great cook hubby :)
    great dish u had there :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Lisa, how you doing? Happy belated Birthday to you, wishing you many happy returns.
    Your duck recipe very interesting, it look so delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ms celebrity Amelia… i am good and you?
      Thank you

      Delete
  8. It is really sad...and very troublesome what happened to the MH370...
    Happy Belated Birthday Lisa and the duck looks delicious...very flavorful!
    Hope you are having a nice week my dear :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, damn delicious bebek betutu, i'm imressed!!!
    I'm Indonesian and i really thankyou to share this Indonesian recipe,
    the photograph is really seducing me...

    ReplyDelete