Balinese Recipe: Unveiling the Exquisite Flavors of Basa Genep

Bali is famous for its special spices. In Balinese spices, there are various kinds of spices that make the taste of food even richer.

Balinese spices, picture from Canva AI

This time, I will discuss one of the typical Balinese spices, namely basa genep. You can try making Basa Genep and combine it with ingredients available at home.

In Balinese, 'basa' means seasoning and 'genep' means complete. So Basa Genep means complete seasoning.

Basa Genep package, personal photography

Basically, base genep is a basic spice that is widely used in processing typical Balinese food. Consisting of 15 types of herbs and spices, Base Genep has four main elements, namely, ngkung (galangal), ginger, isen (galangal), and kunir (turmeric). These four main elements are usually equipped with two other elements, namely three additional elements consisting of two marine elements and one locking element.

Another Balinese Culinary Delight:

Sambal Matah Recipe

Every kitchen in Bali has its own special basa genep recipe. Some places use wangen, which consists of several ingredients, namely candlenuts, cloves, lemongrass, bay leaves, nutmeg, black pepper, white pepper, kaffir lime, coriander, puyang chili, kecombrang, temu tis, temu kunci, bangle, mesoyi (a type of cinnamon), frankincense,) lenga, and sepet-sepet, which are made by finely chopping or finely grinding them.

Instant Basa Genep, personal photography

Here is a simple basa genep recipe that you can make yourself at home. I took the measurements from Kompas.com.

Basa Genep Recipe

Ingredients:

Galangal 50 grams

Aromatic Ginger 25 grams

Red chili 200 grams

Ginger 100 grams

Shallots 200 grams

Garlic 75 grams

Turmeric 30 grams

3 stalks of lemongrass

Coriander 20 grams

Cayenne pepper 50 grams

Candlenut 100 grams

 

Preparations:

There are two ways to make this spice, namely by chopping or blending. Feel free to adjust to the texture you like. After chopping or blending, fry the Basa Genep spices until cooked and there is no unpleasant smell.

Betutu Chicken, picture by Canva

You can use this spice to make chicken betutu, satai lilit, or vegetables, like in the photo below.

You can try this dish in Bali:

Rujak Bulung Boni and Tipat Cantok

This is chayote and bali spinach, which uses chicken stock and basa genep. It tastes savory, spicy, and very refreshing.Happy making Basa Genep! I hope you enjoy it!

Vegetables with Basa Genep, personal photography

Reference:

https://jalurrempah.kemdikbud.go.id/artikel/base-genep-mencecap-sepiring-filosofi-rempah-di-bali

https://www.kompas.com/food/read/2020/06/20/120200275/cara-bikin-base-genep-bumbu-dasar-khas-masakan-bali.