Balinese Cooking Class at an Organic Farm with Market Visit Ubud

A Morning Market near Ubud

Balinese cooking starts at the market. On the morning class you visit a local market where villagers shop at dawn for the day's ingredients: piles of shallots and garlic, knobs of fresh turmeric, galangal and kencur, bundles of lemongrass, bird's eye chillies, coconuts, tempe wrapped in leaves and tropical fruits such as snake fruit, mangosteen and rambutan. Your chef explains what each ingredient is used for and how to choose it.

You also see stalls selling flowers, palm-leaf trays and incense for canang sari, the small offerings placed in temples, shrines and shop fronts every morning. It is a lively, colourful half hour and one of the best ways to understand daily life in Bali. The market visit is part of the morning class only; afternoon and evening classes go straight to the farm.

The Organic Farm and the Rice Fields

The cooking school sits on a family organic farm surrounded by rice paddies and tropical gardens, a short drive from the centre of Ubud. On arrival you are welcomed with Balinese coffee or tea and a light breakfast, then walk through beds of vegetables, herbs and spices to see how a Balinese family uses the land around it. You pick fresh greens, chillies and herbs that go straight into your dishes.

The rice fields around the farm are watered by subak, the cooperative irrigation system that Balinese farmers have used for about a thousand years and that is recognised by UNESCO as part of the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province. Your guide points out how water is shared between terraces, and you see rice at different stages of growth depending on the season.

Base Gede: The Heart of Balinese Cooking

Almost every Balinese savoury dish begins with base gede, also called base genep, a rich spice paste of shallots, garlic, chilli, turmeric, ginger, galangal, kencur, candlenut, lemongrass and coriander seeds. In the open-air kitchen you chop and grind it in a traditional stone mortar, then fry it gently until the aroma fills the air. It is the most useful skill to take away from a Balinese cooking class in Ubud.

The chef explains why each spice matters, how to balance heat, sourness and sweetness, and which substitutes work if you cannot find fresh turmeric or kencur where you live. Each cooking station is shared by two people, so there is plenty of hands-on work while the chef moves between groups, demonstrates each step and tastes as you go.

The Menu: Sate Lilit, Opor Ayam and More

With the spice paste ready, the class cooks a full Balinese meal. Sayur urab is a salad of blanched greens tossed with grated coconut and spices. Opor ayam is a mild chicken curry simmered in coconut milk. Sate lilit is the island's signature satay, minced meat mixed with coconut and spice paste and wrapped around lemongrass sticks before grilling. Pindang base tomat is fish in a fragrant tomato sauce, and tempe asam manis is crisp fried tempe in a sweet and sour glaze.

For dessert you make pisang goreng, banana fritters with coconut and palm sugar syrup, or bubur injin, a black rice pudding with coconut cream. Everyone then sits down together to share the meal. The vegetarian or vegan option replaces meat and fish with gado gado, tempe curry, corn fritters and jackfruit sate lilit.

Ubud: Bali's Cultural Centre

Ubud, in the green hills of Gianyar, is known as the cultural centre of Bali, a town of royal palaces, temples, craft villages and traditional dance, surrounded by rice terraces and river valleys. Its food scene ranges from simple warungs serving nasi campur to family kitchens that still cook for ceremonies, which makes it the natural place to learn Balinese cuisine.

Is a cooking class in Ubud worth it? For travellers who want more than sightseeing, it is one of the most rewarding half days on the island: you meet local people, understand the ingredients you see in every meal, and leave with recipes you can cook again. The morning class finishes around early afternoon, leaving time to explore the Ubud Market, the palace or the Monkey Forest on your own.