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Babi Guling is one of traditional and favorite dishes in Bali especially for the local. If you are pork lover, no doubt Bali is great place who has local pork dishes. Lawar Babi, Tum Babi, Babi kecap is some of local pork dishes. Well now lets talk about Babi Guling. I am hungry already :-).

Before Babi guling become a famous local dishes, it use to be one of dishes for sacrifice to the God. In some traditional ceremony such as wedding ceremony, cremation ceremony, etc the Banten (stuff for offering) has to have a Babi guling (celeng guling). Mostly in every village houses, Balinese family has a pig farm and feed them with the family scrap. When the Pig mother has a baby, and the pig baby has been three or four months, one of the baby must be sacrificed to thanks God, for all the blessing.

Now, Babi guling become a famous dishes in Bali, if you meet Balinese somewhere, ask about it and for sure they will be very excited to explain. A lot of the Babi guling restaurant now available in Bali. Balinese can have the dishes now every time they want to (not waiting until some ceremony held), even the tourist in Bali seem like very enjoying babi guling and some of them are addicted.

Babi Guling or Roasted Suckling Pig is a whole of 60 to 90 ponds young pig, rub with Bumbu Bali (Balinese spices) including, turmeric, galangal, ginger, candle nuts, lemon grass, shallot, garlic, etc. The stomach will filled with the spiced cassava leaves and then stitched. One long wooden stick will punctured from the anus through the mouth then put it on open live coals for about 5 to 6 hours. The pig continuously turned to ensure even cooking so that the meat become tender and juicy. When the skin is become brown and the pig are begin losing from the stick when it turn, that means the Babi guling is cooked and ready to serve.

If you are in Bali currently or want to come to Bali in the future, put this in your mind, you definitely need to try this, traditionally the spices are bit spicy but for the restaurant and the tourist consume, now they make it mild, so no worry about it.

A portion of Babi Guling in a restaurant mostly consist hot steamed rice, chunk of tender, succulent and melt in your mouth pork meat, along with its crunchy skin (this is the best part, at least for me) on a wax paper lined wicker basket, with other accompany dishes such as; lawar (vegetables mixed), cup of pork bones soup (jukut balung), sometime with a banana trunk soup (jukut ares). Pork skin crackers (chicharone). The flesh is so tender that it can be pulled from the bone and made all the more tasty and flavored by the secret blend of Balinese spices. Iced tea or a soft drink will be a good pairing of the dishes.

Some of them are served separately, some of them are served in one plates together with the condiments.