It was time to experience some more of the local culture during my stay in Bali, so I signed up for a lesson in cooking Indonesian cuisine.

Indonesian food relies heavily on the flavours of chilli, coconut, lemongrass, lime and roots like turmeric and galangal.

Our chef, Halim, was teaching us how to cook Pepes red snapper fillet - 'pepes' meaning wrapped in banana leaf.

He'd already prepared a blend of shallots, garlic, chilli and turmeric root - the basic red paste base used in many dishes.

This was poured into a wok with some vegetable oil.

We added crushed galangal, along with kaffir lime and lemongrass and turmeric leaves that had been tied in a knot so they didn't disintegrate.

A whopping great heap of grated coconut came next, turning the mixture into a kind of paste.

Now our origami skills came under pressure. We had to arrange the mixture along with kemangi (a type of basil) leaves and our fish fillets on two banana leaves.

This we had to fold into a little parcel and secure with a toothpick threaded through the top.

My first efforts were dismal - I even managed to break the toothpick and tear my leaves - and some remedial folding and sewing lessons were required before mine was declared ready to go.

Our bundles were popped into a steamer (they can also be grilled for a heavier, smokier flavour) and served with jasmine rice.

The result was a flavour a lot more subtle than I'd thought - no one ingredient overpowered the others and the taste of the fish still came through.

I'll have to try this one again when I get home - but maybe I'll just staple my leaves together...

Amy Williams travelled to Bali courtesy of Club Med and Pacific Blue.

Check out the pictures from my trip to Bali on Flickr or find out more about Bali.

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