The Indonesian archipelago benefits from an exceptional natural environment, to which is added a rich cultural heritage. Its ethnic diversity is reflected in its arts, architecture, songs, languages, and of course, its culinary preparations! If you visit Indonesia, be sure to try these 10 must-try dishes!
Nasi Goreng
“Nasi Goreng” means “fried rice”. The basic idea of this dish is to avoid food waste, because originally the rice used for this recipe is leftover from previous meals. You’ll find Nasi Goreng in almost any place, from fancy restaurants to street food stalls.
This speciality can be enjoyed at any time of the day. The taste of this preparation is a typical mixture of sweet, salty and slightly spicy. There are many varieties of fillings that can go into Nasi Goreng, such as minced chicken, sausage, or fish. The final touch of the dish usually consists of cucumber slices and a fried egg.
Sate
“Sate” are skewers made up of slices of meat marinated and grilled on a charcoal grill. In Indonesia, you will find it based on chicken, beef, lamb, scallops or even fish. Before being seared, the meat will macerate for a few hours in a tasty preparation. These skewers are served with many accompaniments, including raw vegetables with peanut sauce or spicy yellow sauce.
Soto
Soto is a soup that is widely found in Indonesia. A bowl of Soto basically contains “bihun” (rice vermicelli), sliced cabbage, a handful of bean sprouts and meat. Its broth is clear and flavoured with turmeric, lemongrass, shallots and garlic. The meats used for this dish can vary depending on the origins of the cook. For example, there is a Soto Babi (pig) in Bali where Hinduism is the majority religion.
The most common Soto in almost all parts of Indonesia are Soto Ayam (chicken) and Soto Babat (beef or goat offal). Soto Betawi from Jakarta, on the other hand, contains a thick and creamy broth.
Gado-gado
Gado-gado is a traditional Indonesian salad. Its name means “mixture”, since its composition is a mixture of steamed and raw vegetables. A plate of Gado-gado usually contains spinach, bean sprouts, green beans and corn. It can also be garnished with cucumber slices, boiled apples, hard-boiled eggs as well as fried tofu and tempeh. For a final touch, these ingredients are covered with a creamy peanut sauce, more or less sweet and spicy.
Rendang
Rendang is a spicy meat preparation made from beef or lamb. This spicy stew gets its smoothness from the coconut milk in which it simmers. This dish originating from the Minangkabau tribe of West Sumatra is usually served on special occasions such as Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan. However, it is easy to taste this dish in restaurants all over Indonesia.
Bakso
Bakso is a popular street food in Indonesia, which comes in the form of meatball soup. These are usually made from a mixture of tapioca flour, salt and ground beef, but you can also find them with chicken, fish, pork or shrimp. Sometimes the dumplings are stuffed with, for example, eggs, cheese or other fillings. A bowl of complete Bakso consists of a broth of meatballs, rice vermicelli, vegetables, tofu and bean sprouts.
Mie Ayam
Mie Ayam is a wheat noodle dish with chicken and sometimes Bakso, the whole thing is sprinkled with rings of spring onions. Once boiled, the noodles are seasoned with a mixture of cooking oil, soy sauce and garlic. The combination of these ingredients creates a truly popular fusion of sweet and savoury flavours. This speciality is commonly found in street food stalls.
Batagor
Batagor is an acronym for ‘bakso tahu goreng’ literally ‘fried tofu balls’. This snack was created by the Sundanese, an ethnic group originally from West Java. The dish consists of tofu stuffed with fish paste covered with wonton dough (Chinese ravioli), the whole thing is then fried. This dish is served with a spicy peanut sauce and lime juice.
Tongseng
Tongseng is a soup with explosions of flavour in which we incorporate lamb, mutton or beef previously fried in a wok. The dish is creamy and spicy, as it contains coconut milk and various aromatics such as garlic, shallot, black pepper, ginger, coriander, galangal and lemongrass. Here is another speciality that can be tasted at the corner of a street.
Ketupat Sayur
A bowl of Ketupat Sayur contains sliced Ketupat (rice cakes boiled in braided coconut leaves) dipped in a coconut milk vegetable stew. Sometimes it comes with tofu and tempeh cooked with soy sauce. Ketupat Sayur vendors roam the streets pushing their food carts or carrying their baskets of food on their shoulders. This versatile dish is great for breakfast or dinner.
Do you like Indonesian dishes? You will certainly enjoy discovering some of these most beautiful birds, as well as the island of Bali to browse through the Top 100 places to see, or by region: East Bali, North Bali, South Bali and West Bali.
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