Babi Guling
This compact home-style Babi Guling delivers crackling skin, rich pork, and the unmistakable perfume of turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, and makrut lime. The result is deeply savory, fragrant, and keto-friendly, with cool cucumber balancing the roast's richness.
Ingredients
Daging dan bumbu dasar
- 700 gpork belly, skin-on, boneless
- 10 gfine sea salt
- 15 mllime juice
Base genep paste
- 20 gfresh turmeric, peeled and sliced
- 25 glemongrass, tender inner part only, sliced
- 20 gfresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 20 gfresh galangal, peeled and sliced
- 20 ggarlic cloves
- 60 gshallots, sliced
- 20 gcandlenuts
- 4 leavesmakrut lime leaves, central ribs removed
- 4 gground coriander
- 2 gground white pepper
- 20 mlcoconut oil
- 30 mlwater
Untuk memanggang dan penyajian
- 10 mlcoconut oil
- 2 leavesmakrut lime leaves, very finely sliced
- 120 gcucumber, sliced
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 220°C fan. Pat the pork belly very dry, then score the skin in 1 cm intervals without cutting deeply into the meat. Rub all over with the lime juice and 6 g of the salt, working some into the cuts and underside. Drying and scoring the skin well is key for blistered crackling in a short cooking time.
- 2
Make the spice paste: blend the turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, garlic, shallots, candlenuts, 4 makrut lime leaves, coriander, white pepper, 20 ml coconut oil, water, and the remaining 4 g salt to a mostly smooth paste. If needed, stop and scrape down the blender so fibrous lemongrass breaks down evenly.
- 3
Open the pork belly flat with the skin side down. Spread the spice paste over the meat side only, leaving the skin clean and dry so it can crisp. Roll or fold the pork into a compact roast and tie securely at 3-4 cm intervals. Brush the skin with 10 ml coconut oil.
- 4
Place the pork on a rack set over a tray and roast for 20 minutes at 220°C fan to start blistering the skin. The high heat rapidly renders the top layer of fat and helps mimic the intense roasting of traditional guling.
- 5
Reduce the oven to 180°C fan and continue roasting for 25-30 minutes, until the thickest part reaches at least 68-70°C and the juices run mostly clear. If the skin is not yet deeply crisp, return it to 220°C for the last 5 minutes. The pork should be cooked through but still juicy.
- 6
Rest the roast for 10 minutes on a warm board. Resting lets the juices redistribute and keeps the spiced interior moist when sliced.
- 7
Slice or chop the pork into thick pieces, making sure each portion gets some crackling and seasoned meat. Scatter with the finely sliced makrut lime leaves and serve immediately with cucumber on the side for freshness.
Nutrition per serving
Notes
- •Traditional babi guling is made with a whole suckling pig on a spit; this version uses pork belly to deliver the same signature combination of juicy spiced meat and crisp skin in a realistic home format for 2 servings.
- •Keep the skin absolutely free of spice paste and moisture; any paste on the skin will soften it instead of crisping it.
- •If you have time, air-dry the seasoned pork uncovered in the fridge for 2-12 hours for even better crackling, though this is outside the stated recipe time.
- •For a more intense Balinese aroma, serve with a spoonful of sambal matah if your keto plan allows the extra shallot content.
Background
Babi guling is one of Bali's most celebrated ceremonial dishes, traditionally prepared by rubbing a whole pig with base genep, a complex Balinese spice mixture, before slow spit-roasting it over a fire. It is commonly served at festivals, temple celebrations, and family gatherings, where the contrast of aromatic meat and crisp skin is especially prized.
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