How to Make Base Genep: The Authentic Balinese Spice Paste (Base Gede)
If you've ever wondered how to make Base Genep (often spelled Base Gede) at home, you've come to the right place. This rich, complex spice paste is the foundation of Balinese cooking—almost every savory dish in the kitchen begins with a few tablespoons of it. Unlike other regional Indonesian pastes, Base Genep is a 'garland' of over 16 different ingredients, including fresh turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, and fresh candlenuts. While the original Balinese blenzong (stone mortar and pestle) is the best tool, we'll show you how to adapt the authentic Base Gede recipe for your modern kitchen, or how to watch a local chef master it step-by-step in a class.
What is Base Genep?
Base Genep (literally “complete seasoning”) is a wet spice paste of aromatics, roots and chillies, fried gently until fragrant. Unlike a quick stir-fry paste, it’s cooked slowly so the raw edge disappears and the flavours marry into something deep and savoury.
Ingredients
- Shallots — 10, peeled
- Garlic — 6 cloves
- Red chillies — 4 (adjust to taste)
- Fresh turmeric — a 3 cm piece (or 1 tsp ground)
- Galangal — a 3 cm piece
- Ginger — a 2 cm piece
- Candlenuts — 4 (or macadamia as a substitute)
- Lemongrass — 2 stalks, bruised
- Coriander seeds — 1 tsp, toasted
- Shrimp paste (terasi) — 1 tsp (omit for vegan)
- Coconut oil — 4 tbsp, plus salt and palm sugar to taste
Method
- Roughly chop the shallots, garlic, chillies, turmeric, galangal, ginger and candlenuts.
- Pound everything (except the oil and lemongrass) into a coarse paste using a mortar and pestle — or pulse in a blender with a splash of oil.
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan over low-medium heat. Add the paste and the bruised lemongrass.
- Fry gently, stirring often, for 15–20 minutes until the paste darkens, the oil separates, and it smells rich and toasty.
- Season with salt and a little palm sugar. Cool and store.
How to use and store it
Use Base Genep as the foundation for curries, sautéed vegetables, marinades for satay, and pepes. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze it in small portions for months.
Learn it hands-on
Grinding Base Genep by hand is the heart of every one of our classes. Join a cooking class with market tour to source the ingredients yourself, or read about the dishes you’ll cook with it.
Want to make Base Genep the authentic way?
Grinding 16+ spices by hand is tough (and time-consuming!). Learn the traditional method, market-to-kitchen workflow, and cultural stories in our next available class.
