Indonesia is more than seventeen thousand islands, hundreds of peoples and languages, and its cuisine is as vast and varied as the archipelago itself. This is the home of the legendary Spice Islands β the Moluccas, for whose nutmeg and cloves entire European fleets were once fitted out. No wonder Indonesian food is a symphony of spices: ginger, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, coriander, chilli.
Just as in Italy, there is no single Indonesian cuisine. The fiery Minangkabau cooking of Sumatra differs from gentle Javanese food, which differs again from Balinese cooking with its pork and from the fish-based cuisine of Sulawesi. Yet there are common threads that bind the whole archipelago together.
Rice is the foundation of everything
The main thread is rice (nasi). For most Indonesians, a meal without rice is not a real meal but merely a snack. Rice accompanies almost everything: meat, fish, vegetables, sauces. It is steamed, wrapped in leaf parcels, pressed into firm ketupat cakes for festivals.
The most famous rice dish is nasi goreng, fried rice. This national dish is made in every home and on every corner: rice is stir-fried with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), garlic, chilli and whatever is on hand, often crowned with a fried egg. The same method gives mie goreng, fried noodles.
Rendang β the world's best dish
If there is one dish Indonesia is proudest of, it is rendang. It has several times topped global rankings of the world's tastiest foods. It comes from the Minangkabau people of Sumatra.
Rendang is beef simmered for hours in coconut milk with a whole bouquet of spices (lemongrass, galangal, garlic, ginger, chilli, turmeric) until the liquid evaporates completely. The meat darkens, soaks up the spice paste and becomes almost dry, intense and astonishingly aromatic. Originally it was a way to preserve meat in a hot climate β evaporated rendang keeps for a long time.
Satay, gado-gado and tempe
The Indonesian table rests on more than large dishes:
- Satay (sate) β small skewers of chicken, goat or beef on bamboo sticks, grilled over coals and served with peanut sauce. They are sold at every night market.
- Gado-gado β a salad of boiled and fresh vegetables, eggs and tempe under a thick peanut sauce. The name means "mix-mixture."
- Tempe β fermented soybeans pressed into a firm cake. Unlike tofu, tempe has a nutty flavour and dense texture and is fried until crisp. It is a truly Indonesian product that has become popular around the world.
Sambal β the soul of Indonesian food
No Indonesian table is complete without sambal, a fiery chilli paste-condiment. There are dozens of kinds: with shrimp paste terasi, with lime, with tomato, cooked and raw. For an Indonesian, sambal is not just a sauce but a way to tune a dish to one's own taste.
Sambal is often joined by other condiments and side dishes, and the meal becomes a set of small, vivid flavours arranged around a plate of rice. Heat here is not aggression but part of the culture of eating.
Street food and bakso
Indonesia lives on street food. Carts known as kaki lima roll through the streets, and one of the most beloved sells bakso, a soup of meatballs, noodles and greens. The ringing bell of the bakso vendor is familiar to every Indonesian from childhood. To this world belong fried snacks called gorengan, rice cakes and sweets wrapped in banana leaves.
What to cook first
To feel Indonesia at home, start with nasi goreng: leftover rice, sweet soy sauce, garlic, chilli and an egg, and in fifteen minutes the national dish is on your table. Once comfortable, attempt rendang: it demands time and patience but rewards you with a flavour that people once sailed half the world for. And a jar of good sambal beside your plate will transport you straight to a Jakarta night market.
