Gianyar Slow-Cook Tradition · Spice-Buried Poultry
Betutu
Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Traditionally the wrapped bird was buried in the embers of smouldering rice husks and left to cook slowly for many hours, which is why betutu is still cooked low and long today.
A whole chicken or duck is coated inside and out with a hand-ground paste of turmeric, galangal, candlenut, chili, and shrimp paste, then wrapped in banana and areca palm leaves and slow-steamed or roasted for hours until the meat falls from the bone. Warungs near Gianyar sell it as a full plate with rice and vegetables.
Why it's made this way: Betutu's regional variation reflects Bali's village-level culinary identity, with each regency defending its own version of the spice mix and wrapping method as distinctly its own.
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