9 Balinese dishes that are already vegan
The island has been cooking plants beautifully for centuries, long before anyone called it plant-based. Before you queue for another smoothie bowl, here are nine local dishes that are vegan as standard, or one polite word away from it.
1. Nasi campur sayur
A scoop of rice ringed by small piles of whatever the kitchen made that day. Order the vegetable version and you'll get tempeh, long beans, water spinach, fried shallots and sambal. Say "tanpa telur" and check the sambal for shrimp paste, then dig in.
2. Gado-gado
Indonesia's gift to the world: blanched vegetables, tofu, tempeh and sometimes potato under a thick peanut sauce. The sauce is plant-based by nature. The only thing to watch is a boiled egg on top, so ask for it without.
3. Tempe goreng
Tempeh, sliced thin and fried until the edges go lacy and crisp. Bali eats tempeh the way other places eat bread, which is good news, because it's protein-dense and grown locally. Order it as a side with anything.
Tempeh was invented in this part of the world. On the island, it's not a meat substitute. It's just lunch.
4. Sayur urab
A Balinese salad of steamed greens and bean sprouts tossed with grated coconut, lime and chilli. Bright, fresh and built for the heat. It usually shows up as part of a campur plate. Confirm there's no terasi in the coconut dressing and it's yours.
5. Jukut ares
A soup made from the tender heart of a banana stem, simmered with lemongrass, galangal and turmeric. It's the kind of dish you only find where someone's grandmother is still cooking. Often vegan, sometimes made with a meat stock, so this is one to ask about.
6. Pisang goreng
Battered, fried banana, sold from carts all over the island for small change. The batter is flour and water, the banana is banana, and the result is the best snack you'll eat all week. Skip the rare honey drizzle if you avoid it.
7. Bubur injin
Black rice pudding, slow-cooked until it turns deep purple, sweetened with palm sugar and finished with coconut milk. Order it for breakfast or dessert. It's naturally dairy-free and quietly one of the best things on the island.
8. Lawar (the vegetable kind)
Lawar is a ceremonial mix of vegetables, grated coconut and spice. The festival version often contains meat and blood, so this matters: ask specifically for "lawar sayur", the vegetable one, which is a fragrant, complex plate of green beans and coconut.
9. Es kacang or es campur
Shaved ice piled with beans, jelly, fruit and coconut milk, glowing pink with syrup. A street dessert built for a hot afternoon. Watch only for condensed milk, which some stalls add. Ask for it without and it stays vegan.
A note on respect, and shrimp paste
Two ingredients turn an otherwise plant dish non-vegan in Bali: terasi (shrimp paste) hiding in sambal, and the occasional meat stock in soups. Learn the words "tanpa terasi" and "ada kaldu daging?" (is there meat stock?) and you've solved ninety percent of it. The rest is just eating well, which Bali makes very easy.