On a balmy Bali day (which is to say, most of the year) this coconut and vegetable salad steps up as a welcomed light lunch or refreshing side dish. With plenty of green vegetables, grated fresh coconut, crispy fried shallots, red chilli, sambal, lime leaves, garlic, aromatic ginger, coconut oil, lime juice and more, Jukit Urab is full of the vibrant flavours that epitomise Balinese food.

A mixed rice dish that serves as a canvas for Balinese ingredients, Nasi Campur Bali is commonly topped with meats and vegetables, peanuts, fried shallots or shrimp, eggs and more. A popular street food, Nasi Campur regularly comes wrapped in brown paper or a banana leaf folded into a cone shape – perfect for travellers eating on the go.

One for the seafood lovers, Sate (or satay) Lilit Bali combines shrimp and mackerel, which are blended then grilled and served on bamboo skewers or lemongrass stalks with a fragrant Balinese dipping sauce. A street food favoured by locals and tourists alike, these skewers also incorporate shredded coconut, coconut milk, and sugar and make an ideal snack while market browsing.

Delicious at any time of day, Balinese black rice pudding is technically a dessert – but you’ll be tempted to eat this creamy coconut milk and cane-sugar-sweetened rice dish at meal times. Bubur Injin is made by boiling glutinous black rice before swirling in coconut milk or coconut cream, sugar and, often, flavoursome pandan too. This dish celebrates the home-grown ingredients of the island.

Wrapped in a handy banana leaf parcel, this steamed chicken and spice dish surprises with an explosion of taste. In true Balinese tradition, this dish begins with a fresh, complexly flavoured spice paste made from bold and enticing ingredients – including galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, turmeric and more. Chicken and spice paste are combined before being expertly folded in banana leaves and steamed. Often you’ll find strips of capsicum inside the parcel too.

A rolled pancake-style treat with a sweet, freshly grated coconut and sugar filling, Dadar Gulung owes its bright green colour to pandan leaves, which are crushed into a paste. Commonly served as an alluring accompaniment to morning or afternoon tea or coffee, these pancakes are easy to find and hard to resist.

Perhaps Bali’s most famed dish of all, babi guling (or suckling pig) translates to ‘turning pig’ and is made by hand-turning the meat over an open fire. Because much of Indonesia’s population is Muslim, it’s not common to find this dish outside of Bali. In most iterations of this recipe, you’ll find turmeric, coriander seeds, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic used to enhance its flavours.

Combat the Balinese heat with one of these cooling drinks. Es cincau is a ‘grass jelly drink’, usually comprising cubed grass jelly added to a sweet black tea, milk tea or soy milk tea. A similar concept to a bubble tea, the cubes or strips of grass jelly (sometimes known as leaf jelly or herb jelly) are slightly bitter and touted as a health-giving product across South East Asia.

It would be almost rude to visit Bali without eating at least one plate of Nasi Goreng. This fried rice dish is eaten all across Indonesia, and is often topped with a boiled egg and sometimes served alongside tempeh. The sweetness of kecap manis brings depth to this staple, which is as simple as it is delicious. You can usually expect to see chicken in Nasi Goreng, and it’s often garnished with tomato, cucumber, shallots, spring onions and lime.