A memorable holiday dinner with BB, Balinese crispy fried duck (bebek goreng) on the trip. 🦆😋

What we had:

Bebek goreng: a whole crispy fried duck leg with sambal-tossed long beans and bean sprouts, a mound of rice with fried shallots, and a slice of watermelon

This is the Balinese fried duck I had been looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. The duck was a whole leg-and-thigh portion, marinated in spices then fried until the skin turned deeply golden, shatteringly crisp and the meat underneath stayed tender. You pull it apart with your fingers and get crispy bits, juicy meat and all those aromatics in every bite. So fragrant.

Alongside came a little salad of long beans and bean sprouts tossed with sambal and fried shallots, fresh and spicy, the perfect sharp, crunchy counterpoint to the rich duck. A mound of fluffy white rice topped with crispy shallots soaked up everything, and a slice of cool watermelon rounded the plate off.

Eaten with extra sambal on the side, it was the kind of spicy, crispy, deeply satisfying meal that tastes of the holiday. Bebek goreng done well is hard to beat, and this was a lovely one.

Overall: 4.6 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Shatteringly crispy fried duck with spicy sambal beans and fragrant shallot rice. Would re-order.

Original IG post