Bali has many ways to process and cook chicken. You can enjoy lawar, sate, or ayam betutu. All are vastly different but delicious all the same. However, there is one chicken dish from Bali that is not yet popular called Be Keren Chicken.
This dish actually has become so rare that finding the authentic Be Keren Chicken is rather hard nowadays. One of the reasons is because the cooking process takes a lot of time and uses several unique ingredients. Here is all you need to know about the dish of the kings in Banglo, Bali.
Almost similar to betutu chicken
The cooking process of this dish is almost similar to ayam betutu. Basically, a whole chicken is smeared and stuffed with special spices and then baked. The end result is delicious chicken meat with rich spice flavors. Whichever part you pick, you will get delicious meat. This technique is used both in ayam betutu and be keren chicken.
Take a very long cooking process
The main difference between ayam betutu and be keren chicken is the time needed to make one. This dish needs 12 hours to finish. Apart from a whole chicken a whole lot of herbs and spices, you also need the base part of areca nut leaves to wrap the chicken. The whole thing is then slow cooked on an ember, usually for 12 hours. That will ensure that all part of the chicken will absorb the seasonings.
The Kings’ dish
Be keren chicken was originally a dish made specifically for the kings of Bangli only. The royal cook would make this dish for special occasions in the palace. That is why the dish is made with such complicated preparation, long cooking process, and involves so many ingredients. This is truly the dish for the kings.
Where to enjoy be keren chicken
Unfortunately, due to the impracticality of the preparation, this dish is not a popular one. In Bali, most restaurant only serve it on made to order base. If you want to enjoy the authentic taste of be keren chicken, you have to go to Bangli. There is one warung located on Jl. Serma Semanggi no. 3 Bangli. You might also consider visiting the house of Mrs. Agung Sugantini in Puri Kelodan Bangli. This dish is also halal.
If you manage to try the be keren chicken, you will notice how rich the flavors are. The best part is that it is not too expensive, only about IDR100K per whole chicken. This dish is truly befitting a king.
