Lawar Begins with Chopping: Pork, Liver, Green Jackfruit and Coconut
Everything is prepared separately and only comes together in the last few steps. Sekai Gohan has not kitchen-tested this recipe, so this article describes no flavor or texture from our own cooking. Use a food thermometer for the pork, skin and liver.
The introduction to Wayan's lawar recipe on Wil and Wayan's Bali Kitchen describes mebat: a shared job in which people chop meat and spices finely while talking. That description comes from the authors' own recipe and experience, and we don't take it as a picture of every Balinese household. It is still a good way into the dish, because much of the work in this recipe happens with a knife and a board.
Lawar is not one fixed recipe. The same page notes that it can be made with many kinds of meat, and Indonesia Travel, the Ministry of Tourism's site, describes regional differences and a distinction between red and white lawar. This article follows one version only: Wayan's recipe for 6 servings, with skin-on pork belly, pork liver, canned green jackfruit, half a coconut, a cooked spice paste called base genep, and a fried sambal embe. It contains no blood. You can find more of the country's dishes on our Indonesia page.
What we added to Wayan's recipe
The ingredients and the order of the work follow Wayan's recipe. We made these additions and interpretations ourselves:
- Stock: The ingredient list gives half a stock cube and 1 cup of water, but the method doesn't say where they go. We dissolve the cube in that same cup and use it to simmer the pork. There is no second cup.
- Center temperature: Wayan's method stir-fries the pork for "a few minutes" and cooks the liver on a griddle or grill. We add a check of at least 75°C at the center, held for at least 1 minute, for the pork, skin and liver, based on a Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice. This does not come from Wayan's recipe.
- Washing: Wayan's method finishes with raw sliced kaffir lime leaves and unheated white coconut, and we keep both raw. We add washing the leaves under running water and drying them completely, and lightly rinsing the white coconut flesh before grating.
- "Brown skin": Wayan's method says to grill the coconut until brown, then "cut the brown skin off, crush it, and stir fry it," without defining the term. Wikipedia describes a thin brown seed coat, about 0.2 mm thick, covering the white coconut meat. We read "brown skin" as that thin surface on the flesh side. This is our interpretation. Wikipedia does not state that the seed coat is safe to eat. The hard shell and husk are never food.
- Unstated amounts: Wayan's recipe doesn't give the can size, the cup standard, the weight of the skin, or the amounts of oil and salt. We don't estimate or convert them.
Ingredients for 6 Servings
Choosing and Finding What You Need
Green jackfruit in cans, galangal, kencur, candlenuts, kaffir lime leaves and shrimp paste are the items most likely to need an Asian grocer or an online shop. Search by these common names.
- Kencur: Shop by this name and check the product label. The FAQ explains why we don't swap in another plant name.
- Rhizomes: The four are prepared separately and are not presented here as interchangeable. If you replace one, you are making a different version, and the flavor will change.
- Green jackfruit: Choose canned green jackfruit and buy 2 cans of a size you can find.
- Vegetable stock: Check the ingredients and allergens on the label.
- Allergens: This recipe contains shrimp paste and sesame seeds.
Equipment
- Heavy kitchen knife or cleaver for fine chopping
- Sturdy mortar and pestle, or a food processor
- Food thermometer with a clean, fine-tip probe
- Dedicated board, knife, tongs and plate for raw pork and liver
- Separate clean boards and knives for produce and cooked food
- Wok for the pork
- Griddle or grill for the liver and coconut
- Separate pots for the skin and the jackfruit
- Separate pans for the base genep, the coconut and the sambal
- Colander, jug and grater
- Clean bowls, plates and trays, plus one large mixing bowl
Raw Meat, Liver and Safe Heating
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare says pork (including offal) and pork liver should be heated through to the center, and states that pathogens are killed at 75°C or above for at least 1 minute at the center. Here, we apply that to the pork, the separated skin and the liver. Measure each one with a clean thermometer. Color, cooking time and photographs do not prove that food is safe.
Keep tools for raw meat and offal away from cooked food and raw produce. Wash your hands after touching raw meat or offal. If you refrigerate raw meat, keep its juices from dripping onto anything else.
The ministry's notice is written for restaurants, and we have applied it to home cooking as an added safety step. FoodSafety.gov also publishes a minimum-temperature chart that covers whole pork cuts and ground pork, but it is not specific to pork liver, so we use the ministry's notice, which names pork liver directly.
Method: Prepare Each Part Separately, Then Combine
Steps 1–17 prepare the produce. Steps 18–47 cook the pork, skin, liver and jackfruit. Steps 48–74 make the base genep, coconut and sambal. Steps 75–81 bring everything together.
When Something Goes Off Course
| Problem | What to check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The pork, skin or liver doesn't hold 75°C for 1 minute | The center of the pork mound, the thickest part of the skin, or the thickest piece of liver | Keep cooking and measure again. Color and elapsed time can't replace this check |
| You are tempted to add more stock | The recipe uses one cup of water, with the half cube dissolved in it | Do not add a second measured cup to the recipe |
| The base genep starts to catch | The heat under the pan | Lower the heat and keep stirring until the paste is cooked through without burning |
| You can't tell which coconut part to use | Whether it is hard shell or husk, or the thin brown surface on the white flesh | Use only the thin brown surface and the white flesh. Never crush or eat the hard shell or husk |
| A sambal ingredient is still in the oil when the next is ready | The pan should hold only one ingredient at a time | Lift the earlier ingredient into the bowl before adding the next |
| A raw-meat tool is the one closest to hand during assembly | The tools used for cooked food and raw produce | Use a clean tool instead. Don't let raw-meat tools touch cooked food, lime leaves or coconut |
| The finished lawar needs more seasoning | The salt, which has no set amount | Add a little salt and toss again |
Variations: Other Kinds of Lawar
Other lawar recipes exist, but we haven't blended them into this one. Each would need its own recipe.
| Variation | Who describes it | How it relates to this recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Lawar with other meats | Wil and Wayan's Bali Kitchen notes the range of lawar | This article uses only pork belly, skin and liver |
| Red and white lawar | Indonesia Travel describes this distinction | Mentioned here as cultural background only, not as a label for this recipe |
| Lawar nangka | Budaya Bali gives a separate example | A different recipe, so its amounts and method are not used here |
| Lawar merah with blood | A review by Prastowo et al. in the Journal of Ethnic Foods lists it | This recipe contains no blood |
Wayan's recipe suggests serving lawar with rice and sayur urab. Keep them on the side as accompaniments, not as ingredients.
Lawar in Its Wider Context
Indonesia Travel introduces lawar as a Balinese dish and points to differences between regions, while Budaya Bali shows that a separate recipe can be built around jackfruit. Prastowo and colleagues' review of Indonesian offal-based dishes includes an entry for lawar merah and also describes nglawar, the communal making of the dish. Wayan's page describes mebat in its own words as chopping and talking together.
These sources show a dish with many forms, often connected to shared work. They do not establish the history of this particular pork and jackfruit recipe, and the review is not a test of Wayan's recipe. We also make no claim here about lawar's origin or its full religious and ritual meaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams are in the 2 cans of jackfruit?
Wayan's recipe doesn't give a can size or weight, and we don't guess one. Use 2 cans of green jackfruit of a size you can find.
What can I use instead of kencur?
We don't offer an equivalent. In the comments on Wayan's recipe, one reader disputes equating kencur with "lesser galangal" and mentions Kaempferia galanga and sand ginger, while the site's replies refer to asking for it in shops as kencur and say it is sometimes called white ginger. That doesn't settle the plant's identity, so we keep the name kencur. If you use something else, treat the result as a different version.
Is this the same as red lawar?
No. Indonesia Travel distinguishes red and white lawar, and the review by Prastowo et al. lists lawar merah made with blood. This recipe has no blood, and we mention those types only for comparison.
How many minutes should I cook the liver?
We give no set time. Wayan's method says to griddle or grill it until cooked, and we add a center-temperature check. Measure the thickest piece and make sure it stays at 75°C or above for at least 1 minute. Browning doesn't prove the center is done.
Why do the lime leaves and white coconut stay raw?
Wayan's method adds them to the finished mixture without cooking, and we keep that finish rather than turning it into a cooked version. We add washing and drying the leaves and rinsing the coconut flesh. These are our handling additions, not a guarantee of safety. The pork, skin, liver and jackfruit are all cooked before they go in.
What exactly is the coconut's "brown skin"?
Wayan's method doesn't define the term. We read it as the thin brown surface on the flesh side, matching Wikipedia's description of a seed coat about 0.2 mm thick. This is our interpretation, and Wikipedia does not state that the seed coat is safe to eat. Under this interpretation, the hard shell and husk are not used as food.
Should I mix rice or sayur urab into the lawar?
No. Wayan's recipe suggests serving lawar with them, so keep them on the side. This article does not include a separate recipe for sayur urab.
Sources
- Wil and Wayan's Bali Kitchen, "Wayan's Easy Balinese Lawar Recipe." The main recipe: 6 servings, all ingredient amounts, the six-part method, the description of mebat, and reader and author comments on kencur. https://wilandwayanskitchen.com/easy-balinese-lawar-recipe/
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan), notice for restaurants on heating beef and pork liver and pork through to the center. Center heating at 75°C for at least 1 minute, separate tools for raw meat and offal, handwashing, and preventing dripping juices in the refrigerator. Used here as an added safety step for home cooking. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06-Seisakujouhou-11130500-Shokuhinanzenbu/innsyokutenn_1.pdf
- FoodSafety.gov, "Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature." A chart covering whole pork cuts and ground pork. It is not specific to pork liver and was not used for this recipe's temperature check. https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/safe-minimum-internal-temperatures
- Wikipedia, "Coconut." The thin brown seed coat of about 0.2 mm and the white, fleshy edible endosperm. It does not establish that the seed coat is safe to eat or that raw coconut is safe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut
- Indonesia Travel / Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia, "Lawar." Lawar as a Balinese dish, regional differences, and the distinction between red and white lawar. https://www.indonesia.travel/id/id/travel-ideas/gastronomy/lawar
- Kadek Dwi Sunartini, "Embracing Balinese Local Wisdom Through the Dish Lawar," Budaya Bali. A comparison example that includes lawar nangka. https://budayabali.com/embracing-balinese-local-wisdom-through-the-dish-lawar
- Prastowo et al., "Diversity of Indonesian offal-based dishes," Journal of Ethnic Foods. Lawar merah made with blood and the communal production of nglawar. Used for those passages only. https://journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42779-023-00181-8.pdf
