Indonesian cuisine

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Example of Indonesian Sundanese meal; ikan bakar (grilled fish), nasi timbel (rice wrapped in banana leaf), ayam goreng (fried chicken), sambal, fried tempeh and tofu, and sayur asem; the bowl of water with lime is kobokan.

Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional

culinary traditions that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago,[1][2] with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.[3]

There are many regional cuisines, often based upon indigenous culture with some foreign influences.[2]

Tradition and characteristics

Indonesia has around 5,350 traditional recipes, with 30 of them considered the most important.[4] Indonesia's cuisine may include rice, noodle and soup dishes in modest local eateries to street-side snacks and top-dollar plates.

Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different influences.[2][5][6] Sumatran cuisine, for example, often has Middle Eastern and Indian influences, featuring curried meat and vegetables such as gulai and curry, while Javanese cuisine is mostly indigenous,[2] with some hint of Chinese influence.

The cuisines of Eastern Indonesia are similar to Polynesian and Melanesian cuisine. Elements of Chinese cuisine can be seen in Indonesian cuisine: foods such as noodles, meat balls, and spring rolls have been completely assimilated.

Throughout its history, Indonesia has been involved in trade due to its location and natural resources. Additionally, Indonesia's indigenous techniques and ingredients were influenced by

cloves and nutmeg
, to Indonesian and global cuisine.

Indonesian cuisine often demonstrates complex

bitter. Most Indonesians favour hot and spicy food, thus sambal, Indonesian hot and spicy chili sauce with various optional ingredients, notably shrimp paste, shallots, and others, is a staple condiment at all Indonesian tables.[8] Seven main Indonesian cooking methods are frying, grilling, roasting, dry roasting, sautéing, boiling and steaming
.

potatoes with spices, and bawang goreng served during Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr
) in Indonesia

Some popular Indonesian dishes such as

Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy as the dish that binds the diversity of Indonesia's various culinary traditions.[4] Later in 2018, the same ministry has chosen 5 national dish of Indonesia; they are soto, rendang, satay, nasi goreng, and gado-gado.[14]

sate
; one of the country's national dishes, there are many variants across Indonesia.

Today, some popular dishes that originated in Indonesia are now common to neighbouring countries, Malaysia and Singapore. Indonesian dishes such as satay, beef rendang, and sambal are favoured in Malaysia and Singapore. Soy-based dishes, such as variations of tofu and tempeh, are also very popular. Tempeh is regarded as a Javanese invention, a local adaptation of soy-based food fermentation and production. Another fermented food is oncom, similar in some ways to tempeh but using a variety of bases (not only soy), created by different fungi, and particularly popular in West Java.

History

Bas-relief of Borobudur depicting cooking and cleaning the fish scales

Indonesian cuisine has a long history—although most of it is not well-documented, and relied heavily on local practice and oral traditions. A rare instance is demonstrated by

Papuan tribes of eastern Indonesia, to sophisticated contemporary Indonesian fusion cuisine. The ethnic diversity of Indonesian archipelago provides an eclectic combination — mixing local Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Minang, Malay and other native cuisine traditions, with centuries worth of foreign contacts with Indian traders, Chinese migrants and Dutch colonials.[15]

Rice farming
has a long history in Indonesia.

Rice has been an essential staple for Indonesian society, as bas-reliefs of 9th century

lalap), dudutan (raw vegetables) and tetis.[18]

The 9th century Old Javanese Kakawin Ramayana mentioned cooking technique as Trijata offered Sita some food (canto 17.101); scrumptious food of landuga tatla-tila (cooked with oil) and modakanda sagula (sugared delicacies).[18]

Several foods were mentioned in several Javanese inscriptions dated from the 10th to 15th centuries. Some of this dishes are identified with present-day Javanese foods. Among others are

rujak), kurupuk (krupuk), sweets like wajik and dodol, also beverages like dawet.[19]

In the 15th century Sundanese manuscript

Sanghyang Siksa Kandang Karesian, it was mentioned the common Sundanese food flavours of that times which includes; lawana (salty), kaduka (hot and spicy), tritka (bitter), amba (sour), kasaya (savoury), and madura (sweet).[20]

By the 13th to 15th century, coastal Indonesian polities began to absorb culinary influences from

Minangkabau lands of West Sumatra, and Malay ports of Sumatra and Malay peninsula. Subsequently, those culinary traditions displayed typical Indian culinary influences, such as kare (curry), roti cane and gulai. This also went hand in hand with the adoption of Islamic faith, thus encouraged halal Muslim dietary law that omits pork. On the other hand, the indigenous inhabitant that resides inland—such as the Bataks and Dayaks, retains their older Austronesian culinary traditions, which incorporate bushmeat, pork and blood
in their daily diet.

Indonesian spices (bumbu) including peppercorn, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. The famed 16th century spice trade has prompted European traders to seek spices' sources as far as Indonesian archipelago.

According to the 17th century account of

Sultan Agung's Javanese Mataram court,[i] the techniques of meat processing (sheep, goats, and buffalo) during celebration in Java, was by grilling and frying the seasoned meat. Unlike European, the Javanese primarily use coconut oil instead of butter.[18]

stir-frying technique that required the use of Chinese wok and small amount of cooking oil.[18] They also introduced some new Chinese cuisine—including soy sauce,[ii] noodles and soybean processing technique to make tofu. Subsequently, soybean processing led to the possibly accidental discovery of tempeh (fermented soybean cake). The earliest known reference to tempeh appeared in 1815 in the Javanese manuscript of Serat Centhini.[21]

The vigor of

European colonialism was established in the 19th century Dutch East Indies
. The influences of European cuisine—most notably the Portuguese and Dutch, has introduced European techniques, especially in bread-making, pastries, cookies and cake-baking.

Indonesian culinary tradition has been exposed to various influences. Regarding the method of food processing techniques, each region has developed a specificity that ultimately leads to localization of regional taste.[18]

Customs, serving and consumption

Indonesian typical communal meal, consisting of nasi (steamed rice), lauk-pauk (side dishes), and sayur-mayur (vegetables).

Indonesian traditional meals usually consists of

steamed rice as staple, surrounded by vegetables and soup and meat or fish side dishes. In a typical family meal, the family members gather around the table filled with steamed rice and several other dishes.[1] Each dish is placed in a separate communal large plate or in bowls. Each of these dishes has its own serving spoons, used only to take parts of the dishes from the communal plate into one's own personal plate. Each of the family members has their own personal plate that is first filled with steamed rice. Usually the oldest family member or the husband has the right to initiate the meal,[22]
followed by the rest of the family to help themselves with the dishes. Each of them take some portion of dishes from the communal plates into their own individual plates.

Nasi goreng-sate combo with egg and krupuk, popular Indonesian dish among foreigners.

On their personal plate, the steamed rice will soon be surrounded by two, three or more dishes; vegetables and fish or meat, and maybe some fried dishes,

nasi Padang, or during a buffet. The soupy dish might be served in a separate small personal bowl. Today in contemporary Indonesian restaurants, the set menu is often offered. This has led to the personal serving practice, in a similar fashion to those of Japanese cuisine
, with a personal plate on a tray, a rattan or bamboo container each with a separate small portion of dishes surrounding the rice. This can be found in the presentation of nasi Bali.

Personal serving of nasi Bali, on a woven bamboo plate with rice surrounded by pieces of meat and vegetable side dishes.

Indonesian meals are commonly eaten with the combination of a

knives are absent from the dining table, thus most of the ingredients such as vegetables and meat are already cut into bite-size pieces prior to cooking.[22] Although, in many parts of the country, such as West Java, Gorontalo and West Sumatra
, it is also common to eat with one's bare hands.

In restaurants or households that commonly use bare hands to eat, such as seafood food stalls, traditional

Minangkabau restaurants, or East Javanese pecel lele (fried catfish with sambal) and ayam goreng
(fried chicken) food stalls, kobokan is usually served along with the food. Kobokan is a bowl of tap water with a slice of lime in it to give a fresh scent, this bowl of water is not intended for consumption, rather it is used to wash one's hand before and after eating.

Eating with

Staples

Rice

rice fields in Java; rice
is a staple for all classes in contemporary; Indonesia is the world's third largest paddy rice producer and its cultivation has transformed much of Indonesia's landscape.

Rice is a staple for all classes in contemporary

Seren Taun
rice harvest festival.

Rice is most often eaten as plain rice with just a few protein and vegetable dishes as side dishes. It is also served as

noodles, arak beras (rice wine), and nasi goreng (fried rice).[25] Nasi goreng is omnipresent in Indonesia and considered a national dish.[9]

stinky bean
and goat meat.

Rice was only incorporated into diets as either the technology to grow it, or the ability to buy it from elsewhere, was gained. Evidence of wild rice on the island of

water buffalo attached to a plough; women planting seedlings and pounding grain; and a man carrying sheaves of rice on each end of a pole across his shoulders (pikulan). In the sixteenth century, Europeans visiting the Indonesian islands saw rice as a new prestige food served to the aristocracy during ceremonies and feasts.[24]

Rice production in Indonesian history is linked to the development of

water buffalo for cultivation of fields and manure for fertiliser. Rice production requires exposure to the sun. Once covered in dense forest, much of the Indonesian landscape has been gradually cleared for permanent fields and settlements as rice cultivation developed over the last fifteen hundred years.[24]

Wheat

Mie goreng (fried noodle), a wheat-based Chinese dish completely assimilated into Indonesian mainstream cuisine.

bakpao and cakwe
as staples. Yet in Indonesia, especially in Java and Sumatra, the rice culture was so prevalent that sometimes these wheat-based dishes, such as noodles are treated as side dishes and are consumed with rice, while others such as Chinese buns and cakwe are treated as snacks. The European, especially the Portuguese and the Dutch, introduced bread and various type of bakery and pastry. These European staples have now become alternatives for a quick breakfast.

The Indonesian wheat consumption reached a new height after the advent of Indonesian

instant noodle industry back in the 1970s. Since then Indonesia has become one of the world's major producers and consumers of instant noodles. Indonesia is the world's second largest instant noodle market only after China, with demand reaching 12.54 billion servings in 2018,[26] Today, instant noodles have become a staple in Indonesian households for quick hot meals. Certain brands such as Indomie
have become household names.

Other staples

Papeda, staple food of eastern Indonesia, served with yellow soup and grilled mackerel.

Other staple foods in Indonesia include a number of starchy tubers such as yam, sweet potato, potato, taro and cassava. Starchy fruit such as breadfruit and jackfruit and grains such as maize are eaten. A sago congee called papeda is a staple food especially in Maluku and Papua. Sago is often mixed with water and cooked as a simple pancake. Next to sago, people of eastern Indonesia consume wild tubers as staple food.

Many types of tubers such as talas (a type of taro but larger and more bland) and breadfruit are native to Indonesia, while others were introduced from elsewhere.

Madura and islands east of the Wallace Line
, such as the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Vegetables

A number of

Tumis kangkung
is a popular stir-fried water spinach dish.

Vegetables like

bitter melon are commonly eaten raw, like in lalab. The large bitter melon variety is usually boiled. Kecombrang and papaya flower buds are a common Indonesian vegetable. Urap is seasoned and spiced shredded coconut mixed together with vegetables, asinan betawi are preserved vegetables. Gado-gado and pecel are a salad of boiled vegetables dressed in a peanut-based spicy sauce, while karedok
is its raw version.

Vegetarianism in Indonesia

Tempeh burger, a fusion vegan dish.

Vegetarianism is well represented in Indonesia, as there is a wide selection of vegetarian dishes and meat substitutes that may be served. According to Euromonitor International survei conducted in 2018, Indonesia is the third-highest rate of vegetarianism growth.[27] Dishes such as

soy products, such as tempeh, "tahu" (tofu) and oncom are prevalent as meat substitutes and as a source of vegetable protein. In contemporary fusion cuisine, tempeh is used to replace meat patties and served as tempeh burger.[28]

Most Indonesians do not practice strict vegetarianism and may consume vegetables or vegetarian dishes for their taste, preference, economic and health reasons.[27] Nevertheless, there are small numbers of Indonesian Buddhists that practice vegetarianism for religious reasons.[29]

Meat and fish

The main animal

mutton
are commonly found in the Indonesian marketplaces.

Poultry

Ayam goreng kalasan, from Kalasan, Yogyakarta.

The most common poultry consumed is

ayam taliwang from Lombok, ayam betutu from Bali
, and ayam goreng lengkuas (galangal fried chicken).

Meat

Rendang daging, a beef, mutton or goat meat dish, that has been marinated with various different spices for several hours, and slow-cooked with coconut milk.

Islamic majority, Indonesian Muslims follow the Islamic halal dietary law which forbids the consumption of pork
.

In other parts of Indonesia where there are significant numbers of non-Muslims, boar and pork are commonly consumed. Dishes made of non-halal meats can be found in provinces such as Bali, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, West Papua, Papua, and also in the Chinatowns of major Indonesian cities. Today to cater for the larger Muslim market, most of the restaurants and eating establishments in Indonesia put halal signs that signify that they serve neither pork nor any non-halal meats, nor do they use lard in their cooking. With an overwhelming Muslim population and a relatively small population of cattle, today Indonesians rely heavily on imported beef from Australia, New Zealand and the United States which often results in a scarcity and raised prices of beef in the Indonesian market.

The meat can be cooked in rich spices and

babi guling (pig roast) is popular among locals as well as non-Muslim visitors, while the Batak people of North Sumatra have babi panggang that is a similar dish. Wild boar are also commonly consumed in Papua. The meat also can be processed to be thinly-sliced and dried as dendeng (jerky), or made into abon (meat floss). Dendeng celeng is Indonesian "dried, jerked" boar meat.[30] Raised rabbits
are also consumed as food in mountainous region of Indonesia.

Some game meat such as

Minahasan cuisine of North Sulawesi. Batak cuisine of North Sumatra is also familiar with cooking dog meat, while its consumption is diminishing in Central Java. Exotic and rare game meat such as crocodile, squirrel, civet, and monkey
might also be sold and consumed in wilder parts of Indonesia.

Fish

Grilling ikan bakar baronang in Mamuju, West Sulawesi.

In an archipelagic nation, seafood is abundant, and it is commonly consumed especially by Indonesian residents in coastal areas. Fish is especially popular in the eastern Indonesian regions of Sulawesi and Maluku, where most of the people work as fishermen. Both areas have a vast sea which brings them many different kinds of seafood.[31]

Popular seafood in Indonesian cuisine among others;

.

Seafood is commonly consumed across Indonesia, but it is especially popular in Maluku islands, Gorontalo Peninsula and Minahasa (North Sulawesi) cuisine. Seafood is usually grilled, boiled or fried. Ikan bakar is a popular grilled fish dish that can be found throughout Indonesia. The method of cooking like stir fried in spices or in soup is also possible. Salted fish is preserved seafood through cured in salt, it also can be found in Indonesian market.

Fresh water fisheries can be found in inland regions or in areas with large rivers or lakes. Fresh water fishes are popular in Sundanese cuisine of West Java, caught or raised in Lake Toba in Batak lands of North Sumatra, or taken from large rivers in Malay lands of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra, or large rivers in Kalimantan. Popular fresh water fish among others; carp, gourami, catfish, pangasius, snakehead, trichogaster, climbing gourami, Nile tilapia, and Mozambique tilapia.

Insects

Botok tawon, botok made from bee larvae.

Unlike Thailand, in Indonesia

Banyuwangi, East Java, there is a specialty dish called botok tawon (honeybee botok), which is beehives that contains bee larvae, being seasoned in shredded coconut and spices, wrapped inside banana leaf package and steamed.[33] Dayak tribes of Kalimantan, also Moluccans and Papuan tribes in Eastern Indonesia, are known to consumes ulat sagu (lit. sagoo caterpillar) or larvae of sago palm weevil. This protein-rich larvae are considered a delicacy in Papua, and often being roasted prior of consumption. Locals may also commonly eat the larvae raw or alive.[34] In Bali, dragonflies are also consumed by processing them into pepes
.

Spices and other flavourings

Various Indonesian spices

"Rempah" is the Indonesian word for spice, while "bumbu" is the Indonesian word for a spice mixture or seasoning, and it commonly appears in the names of certain spice mixtures, sauces and seasoning pastes.[35]

Known throughout the world as the "Spice Islands", the Indonesian islands of

candlenut, coriander and tamarind were introduced from India, while ginger, scallions and garlic were introduced from China
. Those spices from mainland Asia were introduced early, in ancient times, thus they became integral ingredients in Indonesian cuisine.

In ancient times, the

sultanate of Banten were well known as the world's major producers of black pepper. The maritime empires of Srivijaya and Majapahit also benefited from the lucrative spice trade between the spice islands with China and India. Later the Dutch East India Company
controlled the spice trade between Indonesia and the world.

Sambal

Sambal ulek, a common Indonesian spicy condiment.

The Indonesian fondness for hot and spicy food was enriched when the Spanish introduced chili pepper from the New World to the region in the 16th century. After that hot and spicy sambals have become an important part of Indonesian cuisine.[36]

Indonesia has perhaps the richest variants of sambals. In the Indonesian archipelago, there are as many as 300 varieties of sambal.[37] The intensity ranges from mild to very hot. Sambal evolved into many variants across Indonesia, ones of the most popular is sambal terasi (sambal belacan) and sambal mangga muda (unripe mango sambal). Sambal terasi is a combination of chilies, sharp fermented shrimp paste (terasi), tangy lime juice, sugar and salt all pounded up with mortar and pestle.[8] Dabu-dabu is a combined Gorontalo and North Sulawesi style of sambal with chopped fresh tomato, chili, and lime juice.[38]

The savoury and sweet shrimp paste from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, is called lengkare or terasi lombok

Sambal, especially sambal ulek, or sambal terasi can also become a base ingredient for many dishes, such as sambal raja (a dish from Kutai), terong balado, dendeng balado, ayam bumbu rujak, sambal goreng ati, among other things.

Sauces and seasonings

marinade for barbecued meat and fish, such as satay and grilled fishes. Sweet soy sauce is also an important ingredient for semur, Indonesian stew
.

Peanut sauce

Peanut sauce is important part of gado-gado.

One of the main characteristics of Indonesian cuisine is the wide application of peanuts in many Indonesian signature dishes, such as satay, gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, and pecel. All of these dishes applied ample of bumbu kacang (peanut sauce) for flavouring. Gado-gado and satay, for example, have been considered Indonesian national dishes.[11][12]

Introduced from

marinades and dipping sauces such as sambal kacang (a mixture of ground chilies and fried peanuts) for otak-otak or ketan. Peanut oil
, extracted from peanuts, is one of the most commonly used cooking oils in Indonesia.

Bumbu kacang or

peppercorns, sweet soy sauce, ground together and mixed with water to form the right consistency. The secret to good peanut sauce is "not too thick and not too watery". Indonesian peanut sauce tends to be less sweet than the Thai
version, which is a hybrid adaptation. Gado-gado is a popular dish particularly associated with bumbu kacang, and is eaten across Indonesia.

Coconut milk

Coconuts are abundant in tropical Indonesia, and since ancient times Indonesians developed many and various uses for this plant. The broad use of coconut milk in dishes throughout the archipelago is another common characteristic of Indonesian cuisine. It is used in recipes ranging from savoury dishes – such as rendang, soto, gulai, mie koclok, sayur lodeh, gudeg, and opor ayam – to desserts – such as es cendol and es doger.

The use of coconut milk is not exclusive to Indonesian cuisine. It can also be found in Indian, Samoan, Thai, Malaysian, Filipino, and Brazilian cuisines. Nonetheless, the use of coconut milk is quite extensive in Indonesia, especially in

Minahasan (North Sulawesi) cuisine, coconut milk is generally absent, except in Minahasan cakes and desserts such as klappertaart
.

Cooking gulai, a type of spicy Indonesian curry, in ample of spices and coconut milk

In Indonesian cuisine, two types of coconut milk are found, thin coconut milk and thick coconut milk. The difference depends on the water and oil content. Thin coconut milk is usually used for soups such as sayur lodeh and soto, while the thicker variety is used for rendang and desserts. It can be made from freshly shredded coconut meat in traditional markets, or can be found processed in cartons at the supermarket.

After the milk has been extracted from the shredded coconut flesh to make coconut milk, the ampas kelapa (leftover coconut flesh) can still be used in urap, seasoned and spiced shredded coconut meat mixed together with vegetables. Leftover shredded coconut can also be cooked,

sticky rice). An example of the heavy use of coconut is burasa from Makassar
, rice wrapped in banana leaf cooked with coconut milk and sprinkled with powdered coconut similar to serundeng.

Cooking method

A traditional humble kitchen in Indonesia using firewood for cooking.

Most of the common Indonesian dishes are named according to their main ingredients and cooking method. For example,

water spinach. Cooking methods in Indonesian kitchen are goreng (frying) either in a small amount of oil or deep frying with a lot of cooking oil, tumis (stir frying), sangrai (sautéing). Roasting methods are bakar (grilling) usually employing charcoal, firewood, or coconut shell, panggang (baking/roasting) usually refer to baking employing oven. Other methods are rebus (boiling), kukus (steaming) and asap/salai (smoking
).

The fire used in cooking can be either a strong fire or a small fire for slow cooking. Cooking

knives, several types of spoon and fork, parutan (shredder), cobek and ulekan (stone mortar and pestle). Traditionally Indonesians use a stone mortar and a pestle to grind the spices and ingredients into coarse or fine pastes. Today most households use blender or food processor for the task. Traditional Indonesian cooking wares are usually made from stone, earthenware pottery
, wood, and woven bamboo or a rattan container or filter, while contemporary cooking wares, plates and containers use metals – iron, tin, stainless steel, aluminium, ceramics, plastics, and also glass.

National dishes

Initially during the early years of Indonesian independence, the

ubiquitous and extremely popular nasi goreng was considered the national dish of the republic, albeit at that time was unofficial.[40][9] Its simplicity and versatility has contributed to its popularity and made it as a staple among Indonesian households—colloquially considered the most "democratic" dish since the absence of an exact and rigid recipe has allowed people to do anything they want with it.[41] Nasi goreng that is commonly consumed daily in Indonesian households was considered the quintessential dish that represent an Indonesian family. It is in the menu, introduced, offered and served in Indonesian Theatre Restaurant within the Indonesian pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Howard Palfrey Jones, the US ambassador to Indonesia during the last years of Sukarno's reign in the mid 1960s, in his memoir "Indonesia: The Possible Dream", said that he likes nasi goreng. He described his fondness for nasi goreng cooked by Hartini, one of Sukarno's wives, and praised it as the most delicious nasi goreng he ever tasted.[40] Nevertheless, other widely popular Indonesian dishes, such as satay,[12] soto[13] and gado-gado[11] are also considered strong contenders. Soto is ubiquitous in Indonesia and considered one of Indonesia's national dishes.[13]

In 2014, the

Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in an effort to promote Indonesian cuisine, has chosen tumpeng as an official Indonesian national dish. Technically tumpeng refer to the rice cone in the center, while the surrounding various dishes might be taken from any choice of various Indonesian dishes—thus was considered ideal as a national dish that binds the diversity of Indonesia's various culinary traditions.[4] Subsequently the designation of tumpeng as the single national dish of Indonesia was considered insufficient to describe the diversity of Indonesian culinary traditions. Later in 2018, the same ministry has chosen another additional 5 national dishes of Indonesia; they are soto, satay, nasi goreng, rendang and gado-gado.[14]

Satay and soto are notable and the natural choice to be promoted as Indonesian national dish, since they had transcends the cultural boundaries of myriad

ethnic groups of Indonesia
—those dishes has been extremely localised and has branched into various recipes nationwide. For example, there are rich variants of satay and soto recipes throughout Indonesia; from Sumatra to Eastern Indonesia. Each cultures, ethnics, or even cities had adopted these dishes, and thus developed their own version in accordance to their own culture, tradition, creativity, localised taste and preference, also the availability of local ingredients.

Regional dishes

Minangkabau dishes
on display named Nasi Kapau or Nasi Padang or Masakan Padang

Jakarta

Diverse and eclectic, Betawi cuisine of Jakarta draw culinary influences from Chinese, Malay, Sundanese, to Arab, Indian and European.[42] Popular Betawi dishes include nasi uduk (coconut rice), sayur asem (sweet and sour vegetable soup), asinan (salad of pickled vegetables), gado-gado, (boiled or blanched vegetables salad in peanut sauce), ketoprak, (vegetables, tofu, rice vermicelli and rice cake in peanut sauce), and kerak telor (spiced coconut omelette). Born from a creole or hybrid phenomena, the Betawi cuisine is quite similar to the Peranakan cuisine.

West Java

Examples of Sundanese cuisine; rich in fresh vegetables and adoring salted fish.

A textural speciality of Sunda (West Java) is karedok, a fresh salad made with long beans, bean sprouts, and cucumber with a spicy peanut sauce. Lalab fresh vegetables served with spicy sambal dipping sauce is ubiquitous in Sundanese households and eating establishments. Other Sundanese dishes include mie kocok which is a beef and egg noodle soup, and Soto Bandung, a beef and vegetable soup with daikon and lemon grass. A hawker favourite is kupat tahu (pressed rice, bean sprouts, and tofu with soy and peanut sauce). Colenak (roasted fermented cassava tapai with sweet coconut sauce) and ulen (roasted brick of sticky rice with peanut sauce) are dishes usually eaten warm.

Central Java

Various Javanese cuisine in lesehan (seat on the mat) style

The food of

chicken) and klepon (green rice-flour balls with palm sugar filling). Surakarta's (Solo) specialities include Nasi liwet (rice with coconut milk, unripe papaya, garlic and shallots, served with chicken or egg) and serabi (coconut milk pancakes topped with chocolate, banana or jackfruit). Other Central Javanese specialities pecel (peanut sauce with spinach and bean sprouts), lotek (peanut sauce with vegetable and pressed rice), and opor ayam
(braised chicken in coconut sauce).

East Java

The food of

won ton and noodles) and orem-orem [id] (pressed rice, tempe
, sprouts, soy sauce, coconut, and peanuts).

Madura

Grilling sate Madura.

Sup Kambing mutton soup is also popular in Madura. As a leading salt
production center in Indonesian archipelago, Madura dishes are often saltier compared to other Eastern Javanese foods.

Bali

Nasi Bali
in Balinese cuisine

Babi guling is a spit-roasted pig stuffed with chilli, turmeric, garlic, and ginger
.
Basa gede or basa rajang is a spice paste that is a basic ingredient in many Balinese dishes.[45]

Batak

Batak dishes, saksang, babi panggang and daun ubi tumbuk.

chicken cooked in spices and blood. Another notable Batak dish is arsik, the carp fish cooked with spices and herbs. Lada rimba is strong pepper
used by Bataks.

Aceh

Persian, and Indian traders influenced food in Aceh although flavours have changed a lot their original forms. Amongst these are curry dishes known as kare or gulai, which are rich, coconut-based dishes traditionally made with beef, goat, fish or poultry, but are now also made with tofu, vegetables, and jackfruit. The popular Aceh food such as roti cane, mie aceh and nasi gurih
.

West Sumatra

The hidang style Padang food served at Sederhana restaurant, all of the plates of food are laid out in front of customer, the customer only pays for whichever bowl they eat from.

soto Padang (Padang soto) and katupek sayua (ketupat rice dumpling in vegetable soup). Dishes from the region include nasi kapau from Bukittinggi, which is similar to Padang food but uses more vegetables. Ampiang dadiah (buffalo yogurt with palm sugar syrup, coconut flesh and rice) and bubur kampiun (Mung bean porridge with banana
and rice yogurt) are other West Sumatran specialties.

Traditionally,

restaurant chains can be found throughout Indonesia and neighbouring countries, likely making it the most popular regional dish in Indonesia. Outside of West Sumatra, such as in Java
, most Padang Restaurants still use buffalo to make rendang, but claim it is Rendang Sapi for selling purposes, due to buffalo meat being "inferior" and cheaper than cow meat. Buffalo meat is harder, so it is more suitable for rendang which has a cooking time of at least 3 hours, and presents a coarser texture and a redder color compared to cow meat when it is fully cooked.

East Sumatra

Gulai ikan kerapu, grouper curry.

The cuisine of east coast of Sumatra is referring to the culinary tradition of

peranakan cuisine such as laksa spicy noodle and otak-otak are also can be found in Riau Islands and Medan. Seafood dishes are popular in archipelagic Riau Islands province, while fresh water fishes from Sumatran rivers, such as patin, catfish, carp and gourami are popular in Riau and Jambi. Gulai ikan patin is a signature dish of Pekanbaru
, while gulai ketam (crab gulai) and nasi goreng teri Medan (Medan anchovy fried rice) are the signature dishes of Medan.

South Sumatra

Tempoyak ikan patin a Palembang dish of pangasius fish in fermented durian sauce.

The city of Palembang is the culinary centre of South Sumatra and is renowned for its pempek, a deep fried fish and sago dumpling that is also known as empek-empek. Pempek is served in distinctive kuah cuko, a sweet, sour and spicy sauce made from palm sugar, chili, tamarind and vinegar. Pempek derivatives dishes are tekwan soup of pempek dumpling, mushroom, vegetables, and shrimp, lenggang or pempek slices in omelette. Mie celor is a noodle dish with egg in coconut milk and dried shrimp, it is a Palembang speciality.

The cuisine of Palembang demonstrates various influences, from native Palembang Malay taste to Chinese and Javanese influences. Pempek is said to be influenced by Chinese fish cake akin to surimi, while the preference of mild sweetness is said to be of Javanese influence. South Sumatra is home to

sambal buah
is a chilli sauce made from fruit.

North Sulawesi

Paniki, fruit bat
in spicy bumbu rica-rica green chili pepper

lemongrass, lime leaves, chili peppers, spring onion, shallots, either sautéed with meat or wrapped around fish and grilled covered in banana leaves. Other ingredients such as turmeric and ginger are often added to create a version of woku. Other Minahasan signature dishes are tinutuan, chicken tuturuga, rica-rica and cakalang fufu
.

Foreign colonial influence played a role in shaping Minahasan cuisine. Several cakes and pastries explicitly show Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish influences such as

Paniki
is the bat dish of Minahasa.

Gorontalo

Nasi campur gorontalo, served with Sate Tuna, Egg, Laksa, Balobinte (mixed corn-rice), kangkong, and kerupuk (crackers)

The strategic location of Gorontalo, between the Celebes Sea and Pacific Ocean in the north, and also Gulf of Tomini in the south, has made the Gorontalo region a strategic shipping route in the past.[47] This long past history has formed the roots of a unique and distinctive culture in Gorontalo, including its unique dishes. Therefore, Gorontalo is also known as the land of spices with a unique taste of culinary.

Gorontalese cuisine known for its fresh seafood, prepared using a full-palette of spices and herbs. Home of some Gorontalese delicacies such as Binte Biluhuta, Ayam iloni, Ikan iloni, Sate Tuna, Tabu Moitomo, Sate Balanga, Sagela, Pilitode, and Bilentango.

Gorontalo cuisine is also marked by a multi-cultural influence from other communities who migrated to Gorontalo, such as Arabs and Chinese culture. Moreover, Gorontalo's pastries are also famous for their sweetness and it has influence from European culture brought by the Dutch.

In 2016, the Gorontalese recipe book: "Trailing the Taste of Gorontalo" won as the "Best in the World" at the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Yantai, China for the Asian Cuisine from Asian Books category.[48]

South Sulawesi

Sop saudara and ikan bolu bakar (grilled milkfish). Specialty of Makassar.

Pangkep and Kapurung from Palopo
are also famous dishes of South Sulawesi. Another popular cuisine from Makassar is Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Celebes fried chicken); the chicken is marinated in a traditional soy sauce for up to 24 hours before being fried into a golden colour. The dish is usually served with chicken broth, rice and special sambal (chilli sauce).

In addition, Makassar is also home of traditional sweet snacks such as

Ramadhan
.

Nusa Tenggara

Se'i babi, smoked pork from Kupang, West Timor, East Nusa Tenggara.

With a drier climate in

ayam taliwang
which is roasted chicken served with peanut, tomato chilli and lime dip. Pelecing is a spicy sauce used in many dishes made with chilli, shrimp paste, and tomato. A local shrimp paste called lengkare is used on the island of Lombok. Sares is made from chilli, coconut juice and banana palm pith and is sometimes mixed with meat. Non meat dishes include kelor (hot soup with vegetables), serebuk (vegetables mixed with coconut), and timun urap (cucumber with coconut, onion and garlic).

In

Catholics, hence pork is commonly consumed. Popular Timor dishes are Se'i smoked meat (usually pork), and katemak
vegetable soup.

Maluku and Papua

Maluku dishes, ikan kuah kuning (fish in a yellow soup), papeda, ikan bakar, and sambal colo-colo.

The

red snapper or other fishes spiced with turmeric, lime
, and other spices.

Foreign influences

Martabak
telur, a savoury egg, leek and meat omelette.

Arab influences

Arab Indonesians brought their legacy of Arab cuisine—originally from Hadhramaut, Hejaz and Egypt—and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients. The Arabs arrived in the Nusantara archipelago to trade and spread Islam. In Maluku, kue asida served during Ramadan for iftar, is believed to be derived from the Middle Eastern asida that was introduced by Arab merchants throughout the Maluku Islands.

Indian influences

martabak and kari (curry) that influenced Sumatran cuisines of Aceh, Minangkabau, and Malay; in addition to Betawi and coastal Javanese cuisine. Some of Aceh and Minangkabau dishes such as roti cane, nasi biryani, nasi kebuli, and gulai
kambing can trace its origin to Indian influences.

Chinese influences

Siomay, popular Indonesian Chinese-influenced dish.

. Some of this Chinese-influenced dishes has been so well-integrated into Indonesian mainstream cuisine that many Indonesian today might not recognise their Chinese-origin and considered them their own.

Dutch influences

Selat solo (solo salad), an adaptation of European cuisine into Javanese taste.

The Dutch arrived in Indonesia in the 16th century in search of spices. When the Dutch East India Company (VOC) went bankrupt in 1800,

Dutch cheeses are commonly consumed by colonial Dutch and Indos during the colonial era. Some of native upperclass ningrat (nobles) and educated native were exposed to European cuisine; This cuisine was held in high esteem as the cuisine of the upper class of Dutch East Indies
society.

This led to adoption and fusion of European cuisine into Indonesian cuisine. Several Indonesian food can trace its origin from Dutch influence, such as kue odading that was derived from Dutch

erwtensoep, selat solo (solo salad) from holland biefstuk.[50]

Meses on top of a buttered bread, is a particular staple for breakfast in Indonesia

Some dishes created during the colonial era were influenced by

macaroni schotel (macaroni casserole), pastel tutup (Shepherd's pie), bistik jawa (Javanese beef steak), erten (pea soup), brenebon (kidney bean soup) and sop buntut.[51]

Many pastries, cakes and cookies such as kue bolu (tart), lapis legit (spekkoek), lapis Surabaya (spiku), kroket (croquette), kue bolu kenari (ontbijtkoek), and kastengel (kaasstengels or cheese sticks) are come from Dutch influence.[50] Some recipes were invented as Dutch Indies fusion cuisine, using native ingredients but employing European pastry techniques. These include pandan cake and klappertaart (coconut tart). Kue cubit, commonly sold as a snack at schools and marketplaces, are believed to be derived from poffertjes.[51][50]

Influence abroad

Conversely, Indonesian cuisine also had influenced the Dutch through their shared colonial heritage. Indonesian cuisine also influencing neighbouring countries through Indonesians migration across the

straits
to Malaysia.

Malaysia

Beef rendang with ketupat palas also served in Malaysia.

Because of their proximity, historic migrations and close cultural kinship, Indonesian cuisine also has influenced neighbouring cooking traditions; most notably

Nasi Padang (originated from Padang city, West Sumatra) not only in Malaysia, but also in Singapore.[53]

The Malay cuisine of southernmost state of

Singapore

Some dishes in Singapore are influenced by Indonesian cuisine. Satay bee hoon has a connection to Javanese cuisine. The dish was a product of Teochew Chinese and Javanese culinary cultures.[54] Singaporean rojak has its roots in Indonesia.[55]

Thailand

Thai pork satay

To a lesser extent, Indonesian cuisine also had influenced Thai cuisine — probably through Malaysian intermediary — such as the introduction of satay, from Java to Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and reached Thailand.[56] Achat (Thai: อาจาด pronounced [ʔāː.t͡ɕàːt]), is a Thai pickles which believed to be derived from Indonesian acar. It is made with cucumber, red chilies, red onions or shallots, vinegar, sugar and salt. It is served as a side dish with the Thai version of satay (Thai: สะเต๊ะ).

Netherlands

Kipsate met friet, Dutch take on Indonesian chicken satay, served with Peanut sauce, fried onions, kroepoek, friet, and mayonnaise.

During the colonial period, the Dutch embraced Indonesian cuisine both at home and abroad.[49] The Indonesian cuisine had influenced colonial Dutch and Indo people that brought Indonesian dishes back to the Netherlands due to repatriation following the independence of Indonesia.[51]

C.

pisang goreng (battered, deep fried bananas), lumpia goreng (fried spring rolls), bami (fried noodles), satay (grilled skewered meat), satay sauce (peanut sauce), and sambal oelek (chilli paste).[57]

Dutch-Indonesian fusion dishes also exist, of which the most well-known is the rijsttafel ("rice table"), which is an elaborate meal consisting of many (up to several dozens) small dishes (hence filling "an entire table").[51] While popular in the Netherlands, Rijsttafel is now rare in Indonesia itself. Today, there are many Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands, especially in large cities like Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam.[49]

Culinary diplomacy

Indonesian restaurant in Hong Kong

Indonesian cuisine traditionally enjoyed popularity in neighbouring countries; e.g. Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Australia, as well as nations that shares historical ties with Indonesia; such as the Netherlands, Suriname, East Timor and South Africa. It is also increasingly popular in Japan and Korea.[58][59]

indorica, popular Indonesian Street Food Stall in Singapore Foodcourt scene

Learning from the success of other countries culinary diplomacy, especially those of Thailand, Korea and Japan, in 2021, the Indonesian government has launched the "Indonesia Spice Up The World" program, which is a form of coordinated gastrodiplomacy efforts.[60][61] The programme was launched to promote Indonesian cuisine abroad, to assist Indonesian culinary industry; by helping the local spice products and processed food to find their ways into the global market, and also to assist Indonesian restaurants abroad.[62]

The "Indonesia Spice Up The World" program involves government's inter-ministerial institutions, Indonesian food industry, and also the public. The objective of the program is to boost the export value of Indonesian spices and herbs to US$2 billion, and increasing the presence of four thousand Indonesian restaurants abroad by 2024.[60][62]

Meal times

Traditional slametan meal in Java during colonial period.

Indonesians might consume snacks or varieties of small dishes throughout the day. If separate scheduled larger meal is observed, they usually consists of sarapan or makan pagi (breakfast), makan siang (lunch) is often the main meal of the day, followed by makan malam (dinner).[1] Mealtime is typically a casual and solitary affair, and might be observed differently across region.

In western and central Indonesia, the main meal is usually cooked in the late morning, and consumed around midday. In many families there is no set meal time when all members are expected to attend. For this reason, most of the dishes are made so that they can remain edible even if left on the table at room temperature for many hours. The same dishes are then re-heated for the final meal in the evening. Most meals are built around a cone-shaped pile of long-grain, highly polished rice. A meal may include a soup, salad (or more commonly vegetables sautéed with garlic), and another main dish. Whatever the meal, it is accompanied by at least one, and often several, relishes called sambals. Especially for Javanese family, on the table, it is also common to always have chips, that can be kerupuk, rempeyek, or any other chips to accompany the meal.

In eastern Indonesia, such as on the islands of

Wallace line, the biogeographic realm, and hence the flora and fauna
, are quite different from those of the islands to the west, and so the food stuffs are as well.

Feasts

Tumpeng

Tumpeng nasi kuning, the cone shaped yellow rice is served during a feast.

Many Indonesian traditional customs and ceremonies incorporate food and feast, one of the best examples is tumpeng. Originally from Java, tumpeng is a cone shaped mound of rice surrounded by an assortment of other dishes, officially chosen as Indonesian national dish in 2014.[4] Traditionally featured in slametan ceremonies, the cone of rice is made by using bamboo leaves woven into a cone-shaped container. The rice itself can be plain white steamed rice, uduk (rice cooked with coconut milk), or yellow rice (rice coloured with kunyit, i.e., turmeric). After it is shaped, the rice cone is surrounded by assorted dishes, such as urap vegetables, fried chicken, semur (beef in sweet soy sauce), teri kacang (little dried fish fried with peanuts), fried prawns, telur pindang (marbleized boiled eggs), shredded omelette, tempe orek (sweet, dry fried tempeh), perkedel kentang (mashed potato fritters), perkedel jagung (corn fritters), sambal goreng ati (liver in chilli sauce), and many other dishes. Nasi tumpeng probably comes from an ancient Indonesian tradition that revers mountains as the abode of the ancestors and the gods. Rice cone is meant to symbolise the holy mountain. The feast served as some kind of thanksgiving for the abundance of harvest or any other blessings. Because of its festivities and celebratory value, even now tumpeng is sometimes used as an Indonesian counterpart to birthday cake.

Nasi Padang

Hidang presentation of nasi padang.

Having

dishes originated from Padang city, West Sumatra. It is a miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals eaten with plain white rice. It is the Minangkabau's great contribution to Indonesian cuisine.[63]

After the customers are seated, they do not have to order. The waiter with stacked plates upon their hands will immediately serves the dishes directly to the table. The table will quickly be set with dozens of small dishes filled with richly flavoured foods such as beef

greens, chili eggplant, curried beef liver, tripe, intestines, or foot tendons, fried beef lung, fried chicken, and of course, sambal. A dozen of dishes is a normal number, it could reach 14 dishes or more. Nasi Padang is an at-your-table, by-the-plate buffet.[63] Customers take — and pay for — only what they have consumed from this array.[64]

Rijsttafel

Rijsttafel in 1936 Dutch East Indies.

Another Indonesian feast, the

Rijsttafel (from Dutch, meaning 'rice table'), demonstrates both colonial opulence and the diversity of Indonesian cuisine at the same time. The classic style rijsttafel involved serving of up to 40 different dishes by 40 male waiters, bare foot but dressed in formal white uniforms with blangkon (traditional Javanese caps) on their heads and batik cloth around their waists.[65] In contemporary Indonesian cuisine, it has been adapted into a western style prasmanan buffet
.

Prasmanan

Prasmanan, an Indonesian style buffet.

When attending the reception of an Indonesian traditional wedding party, office lunch-time meeting, a seminar or dinner gathering, one usually will find themselves queuing to Indonesian prasmanan; a long table filled with wide array of Indonesian dishes. A prasmanan is quite similar with rijsttafel but minus the ceremonial waiters and usually served fewer choices of dishes compared to its flamboyant colonial predecessor. It is an Indonesian buffet as it employs a long table with a wide range of dishes, both savoury and sweet, served on it. It can usually be found in wedding ceremonies or any other festivities. The layout for an Indonesian wedding ceremony buffet is usually: plates, eating utensils (spoon and fork), and paper napkins placed on one end, followed by rice (plain or fried), a series of Indonesian (and sometimes international) dishes, sambal and krupuk (shrimp crackers), and ending with glasses of water on the other end of the table.

Beverages

Non-alcoholic beverages

A cup of Java, Javanese kopi tubruk

The most common and popular Indonesian drinks and beverages are teh (tea) and kopi (coffee). Indonesian households commonly serve teh manis (sweet tea) or kopi tubruk to guests. Since the colonial era of Netherlands East Indies, plantations, especially in Java, were major producers of coffee, tea and sugar. Since then hot and sweet coffee and tea beverages have been enjoyed by Indonesians. Jasmine tea is the most popular tea variety drunk in Indonesia, however recent health awareness promotions have made green tea a popular choice. Usually coffee and tea are served hot, but cold iced sweet tea is also frequently drunk. Kopi luwak is Indonesian exotic and expensive coffee beverage made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets.[66] Teh botol, bottled sweet jasmine tea, is now quite popular and locally competes favourably with international bottled soda beverages such as Coca-Cola and Fanta.[67] Kopi susu (coffee with sweetened condensed milk) is an Indonesian version of Café au lait. Es kelapa muda or young coconut ice is fresh drink which is made from chilled young coconut water, coconut flesh and syrup. It is among favourite beverage in Indonesia.

Fruit juices (jus) are very popular. Varieties include orange (jus jeruk), guava (jus jambu), mango (jus mangga), soursop (jus sirsak) and avocado (jus alpokat), the last of these being commonly served with condensed milk and chocolate syrup as a dessert-like treat. Durian can be made into ice cream called es durian.

Indonesian dessert es teler, consisting of avocado, jackfruit, and young coconut in shredded ice and condensed milk.

Many popular drinks are based on ice (es) and can also be classified as desserts. Typical examples include young coconut (es kelapa muda),

musk melon
(es blewah), and seaweed (es rumput laut).

Hot sweet beverages can also be found, such as bajigur and bandrek which are particularly popular in West Java. Both are coconut milk or coconut sugar (gula jawa) based hot drinks, mixed with other spices.

Wedang jahe (hot ginger drink) and wedang ronde (a hot drink with sweet potato
balls) are particularly popular in Yogyakarta, Central Java, and East Java.

Alcoholic beverages

Balinese brem with 5% alcohol content.

As a

Minahasa region of North Sulawesi, the people drink a highly alcoholic drink called Cap Tikus. Indonesians developed local brands of beer, such as Bintang Beer
and Anker Beer.

Eating establishment

In Indonesia, dishes are served from a fine dining restaurant in five-star hotel, a simple restaurant downtown, humble street side warung under the tent, to street hawker peddling their gerobak (cart) or pikulan (carrying using rod).

Restaurant and warung

Floating warung boat attached to the bank of Musi river, Palembang, selling local favourite such as pempek.

In Indonesia rumah makan means restaurant, while warung means small and humble shop.[1] From these eating establishments, a warteg (warung Tegal) and rumah makan Padang are particularly notable for their ubiquitousness in Indonesian cities and towns.

A warteg or warung tegal is a more specific warung nasi, established by

Padang
restaurant, a smaller scale Padang eateries might be called warung Padang.

Most of Indonesian restaurants are based upon specific regional cuisine tradition. For example, rumah makan Padang are definitely Minangkabau cuisine.

Manado and Balinese restaurants. While other restaurants might specifically featuring their best specific dishes, for example Ayam goreng Mbok Berek, Bakmi Gajah Mada, Satay Senayan, Rawon Setan Surabaya, Pempek
Pak Raden, etc.

Street food

street vendor

Indonesian street food are usually cheap, offer a great variety of food of different tastes, and can be found on every corner of the city.[69] Street and street-side vendors are common, in addition to hawkers peddling their goods on bicycles or carts. These carts are known as pedagang kaki lima. These food hawkers on carts or bicycles might be travelling on streets, approaching potential buyers through residential areas whilst announcing their presence, or stationing themselves on a packed and busy street side, setting simple seating under a small tent and waiting for customers. Many of these have their own distinctive call, tune, or noise to announce their presence. For example, bakso sellers will hit the side of a soup bowl using a spoon, whereas nasi goreng sellers announce themselves by hitting their wok.

Bakso (meatball) seller in Bandung

In most cities, it is common to see Chinese dishes such as bakpao (steamed buns with sweet and savoury fillings), bakmie (noodles), and

gorengan (Indonesian assorted fritters) and Bakwan
(fried dish of beansprouts and batter).

Indonesian street snacks include iced and sweet beverages, such as es cendol or es dawet, es teler, es cincau, es doger, es campur, es potong, and es puter. Indonesian cakes and cookies are often called jajanan pasar (market munchies).

Snacks

Kue

risoles, timpan, lemper, and kue pisang
.

Indonesia has a rich collection of snacks called kue (cakes and pastry), both savoury and sweet. Traditional kue usually made from rice flour, coconut milk, coconut sugar and mostly steamed or fried instead of baked. Traditional kue are popularly known as kue basah ("wet kue") that has a moist and soft texture because of rich coconut milk. The kue kering (dried kue) is local name for cookies.

Indonesia has rich variations of kue, both native-origin or foreign-influenced. Popular ones include

bakpia, lapis legit, soes, poffertjes
and bolu kukus.

Traditional crackers

Krupuks in air-tight tin cans.

Traditional crackers are called krupuk, made from bits of shrimp, fish, vegetables or nuts, which are usually consumed as a crunchy snack or to accompany main meals.[70] These crispy snacks sometimes are added upon the main meal to provide crunchy texture; several Indonesian dishes such as gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, lontong sayur, nasi uduk, asinan and bubur ayam are known to require specific type of krupuk as toppings. There are wide variations of krupuk available across Indonesia. The most popular ones would be krupuk udang (prawn crackers) and krupuk kampung or krupuk putih (cassava crackers).

Other popular types include krupuk kulit (dried buffalo-skin crackers),

banana chips) and keripik singkong (Cassava chips), rempeyek, is a flour-based cracker with brittle of peanuts, anchovies or shrimp bound by crispy flour cracker, rengginang or intip (Javanese
) is rice cracker made from sun-dried and deep fried leftover rice.

Fruits

Selection of tropical fruits sold in Bali.

Indonesian markets abound with many types of tropical fruit. These are an important part of the Indonesian diet, either eaten freshly, or made into juices (such as jus alpukat), desserts (such as es buah and

pisang goreng
(fried banana), cooked into cakes (such as kue pisang or bika ambon), sweetened and preserved such as sale pisang and manisan buah, or processed into kripik (crispy chips) as snacks like jackfruit or banana chips.

jicama
, papaya and pineapple. These fruits are served with thick and spicy coconut sugar and spicy salt.

Many of these tropical fruits such as mangga (

passionfruit), sirsak (soursop), nanas (pineapple), jambu biji (guava) and pepaya (papaya) were introduced from the Americas
. Many of these tropical fruits are seasonally available, according to each species flowering and fruiting seasons. While certain fruits such as banana, watermelon, pineapple and papaya are available all year round.

Today, Indonesian markets is also enrichen with selections of home-grown non-tropical fruits that is not native to Indonesia.

dragonfruit are introduced and grown in cooler Indonesian highlands such as Malang in mountainous East Java, Puncak and Lembang near Bandung, to mimic their native subtropics
habitat.

Rambutan for sale at a market in Jakarta.

In the last few years, fruit chips have been more and more various. In the old times, banana and jackfruit chips were the most common, but now Indonesian fruit chips are also made from strawberry, apple, dragonfruit, pepino, watermelon, melon, more. Malang, a city in East Java, is the centre of fruit chip production aside from tempeh chips.

Banana and coconut are particularly important, not only to Indonesian cuisine, but also in other uses, such as timber, bedding, roofing, oil, plates and packaging. Banana leaf and janur (young coconut leaf) are particularly important for packaging and cooking process, employed to make pepes, lontong and ketupat.

Health

Nutrition

Deep frying mendoan tempeh, Indonesian food is often prepared by deep frying which adds saturated fat and cholesterol.

Much

soy bean products that are processed into tofu and tempeh. Chicken eggs, poultry and meats are also consumed. Most of the fat intake comes from cooking oil (coconut oil) of fried dishes, coconut milk, peanuts, as well as meats and offals.[citation needed
]

Some Indonesian fruit and vegetable dishes such as fruit rujak, gado-gado, karedok, pecel, lalab, capcay, tofu and tempeh are foods with low fat and high fibre. Tempeh, for example, is a vegetarian substitute for meat.[71] Some dishes, especially gorengan (deep-fried fritters) and those dishes infused or caramelised with coconut milk, such as rendang and gulai, might taste succulent but are rich in saturated fat.

Food safety

The authentic traditional Indonesian home cooking is freshly made and consumed daily with minimal or no processed, canned or preserved foods, which means there is a minimal amount of

preservatives and sodium. Most ingredients are bought fresh very early in the morning from local traditional markets, cooked around the late morning and consumed mainly for lunch. The leftovers are stored in the cupboard or on the table covered with tudung saji (weaved bamboo food cover to protect the food from insects or other animals), all in room temperature to be heated and consumed again for dinner.[1]
Traditionally, Indonesian dishes are rarely stored for long periods of time, thus most of these dishes are cooked and consumed in the same day. Some exceptions apply to dried, salted, and processed food. For example, dry rendang may still be safe to consume for several days. Modern refrigeration technology is available in most households.

Hygiene

While most of Indonesian grocery products and food served in mid to upperscale eating establishments maintain

food poisoning cases mostly gastroenteritis, especially among foreigners during their stay in Indonesia.[72] It is advisable to drink bottled or boiled drinking water, or choose cooked hot food instead of uncooked room temperatured ones sold by street vendors. For example, when consuming food sold by street vendors, consuming hot cooked mie ayam
or soto is much safer than having gado-gado or fruit rujak.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ as mentioned in Anthony Reid "Southeast Asia in Commerce 1450–1680 Volume I: The Land Below the Winds"
  2. kecap manis
    (sweet soy sauce) with generous addition of palm sugar

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Bibliography

External links