A whole chicken rubbed inside and out with an elaborate Balinese spice paste of turmeric, galangal, and chilies, wrapped in banana leaves, and slow-roasted until succulent and deeply aromatic.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
Bumbu (spice paste): 10 shallots, 8 cloves garlic, 8 red chilies, 5 bird's eye chilies, 3 cm turmeric, 3 cm galangal, 3 cm ginger, 5 candlenuts (kemiri), 2 stalks lemongrass, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 tsp shrimp paste (terasi), 2 tbsp coconut oil, salt
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 bay leaves
Banana leaves for wrapping
Cassava leaves or spinach for stuffing
Instructions
1Grind all bumbu ingredients into a smooth, fragrant spice paste using a mortar and pestle or food processor.
2Sauté the spice paste in coconut oil for 10 minutes until deeply aromatic and the oil separates.
3Rub the entire chicken inside and out with the cooked spice paste. Stuff the cavity with cassava leaves or spinach mixed with extra paste.
4Wrap the chicken tightly in banana leaves, securing with kitchen twine or toothpicks.
5Place wrapped chicken in a roasting pan, cover tightly, and roast at 160°C (325°F) for 3-3.5 hours until the meat is falling off the bone.
6Unwrap at the table to release the extraordinary aroma. Serve with steamed rice and sambal matah (raw shallot-lemongrass sambal).
Did You Know?
Traditional Balinese betutu was cooked by burying the wrapped chicken in rice husk embers and leaving it overnight, producing meat of extraordinary tenderness.