Some may be surprised to learn that despite its Hindu religion (vegetarianism) and being in the centre of the largest Islamic country in the world, pork is front and centre of Balinese cuisine. Otherwise, the ingredients, flavour and spice palette are shared with its neighbours in the region. Dishes such as nasi goreng aren’t covered here as they aren’t specific (or native) to Bali. Key Balinese dishes to keep an eye out for:

• Bali Guling – Roast suckling pork, with an emphasis on the crispy skin. The skin is smeared with turmeric and basted with a spice paste including coriander seeds, lemongrass, lime leaves, chillies, black pepper, garlic, red shallots, and ginger. The pig is roasted on a spit over coconut husks or wood, and the entire animal is consumed.

• Be Urutan – Balinese spicy pork sausage.

• Bebek Betutu – Translating as “darkened duck”, it is rubbed then stuffed with spices, wrapped in a palm leaf and smoked over coals. As the name suggests, this is a slow process. Chicken (ayam betutu) can substituted.

• Lawar – A generic term used to describe a set of dishes that can be thought of as a Balinese non-vegetarian salad. The key ingredients include chopped vegetables, meat (minced or sliced), coconut, garlic, chilli. The blood of the animal is also included to add flavour (usually omitted for foreigners).

• Sate – Satay is often associated with peanut sauce, however the Balinese (and Indonesian) version (spelt sate) uses coconut, lemon juice, shallots, and pepper. The most common serving style, sate lilit, uses a fat stick (usually lemongrass) with minced meat bound around the stick. Most common forms include chicken, pork, and fish.