South East Asian Trips

Indonesian Food

Rice is the basis of many Indonesian meals, seafood is also prominent in many dishes, and often restaurants offer a wide array of fresh seafood. There is a strong Chinese influence in many foods especially meat dishes in Indonesia. Pork is not commonly used in Indonesian cuisine due to the country's population being largely Muslim, where it is used the dish is often Chinese in origin.

Indonesian food is generally rich in flavour and heavily spiced. Chilli features in many dishes or as a condiment at many meals. Each province of Indonesia has its own cuisine some areas have a strong Chinese influence, others dutch or Japanese, or a combination of the three.

Javanese food is thought of as the most palatable. Javanese cuisine uses a variety of fresh spices that give the dishes a wonderful aroma. Javanese cuisine consists of vegetables, chicken and fish with rice.

Padang food originally from the Padang region of Sumatra, is severed in many restaurants throughout the archipelago. Nasi padang is cold rice served with a variety of dishes, also often cold. Sumatrans tend to eat more beef than the other provinces of Indonesia. Fried rice and noodles are common as is sate and gado-gado, a dish that consists of bean sprouts, various vegetables and spicy peanut sauce, throughout Indonesia.

The staple food of most of Indonesia is rice. On some of the islands in eastern Indonesia, staple food traditionally ranged from corn, sago, cassava to sweet potatoes, though this is changing as rice becomes more popular. From the surrounding seas as well as from fresh water fisheries fish is abundant and of great variety, such as lobsters, oysters, prawns and shrimps, squid, crab, etc. Fish features prominently in the diet as fresh, salted, dried, smoked or a paste. Coconut is found everywhere and besides being produced for cooking oil, its milk the juice from the white meat is an ingredient for many dishes.

Spices and hot chili peppers are the essence of most cooking, and in some areas they are used generously such as in West Sumatra and North Sulawesi. Each province or area has its own cuisine, which vary in the method of cooking and ingredients. The Javanese cuisine is probably more palatable to the general taste and consists of vegetables, soybeans, beef, chicken and other varieties.

The Sumatrans generally eat more beef compared to the other regions. West Sumatra particularly is known for its Padang (capital of the province) specialty restaurants found nationwide. Besides the hot and spicy food, these restaurants are known for their unique style of service.

Further to the east, seafood features on the daily diet, either grilled or made into curries. In Bali, Irian Jaya and the highlands of North Sumatra and North Sulawesi pork dishes are specialities. As the population of Indonesia is predominantly Moslem, pork is usually not served except in Chinese restaurants, non moslem regions and in places serving international cuisine.

There is a wide variety of tropical and sub-tropical vegetables all year round. Fruit is available throuhgout the year. Some fruits such as mangoes and water melons are seasonal, but most of the other fruits can be bought throughout the whole year, such as bananas, apples, papayas, pineapples, oranges, etc. Coffee and tea plantations are plentiful, growing on several islands, and served everywhere from fine restaurant to small village stalls.

There are several breweries which produce local beer. Bali produces "brem" which is a rice wine, whereas Toraja has its "tuak" which is also known in North Sumatra and other areas. For most people, a meal consists of steamed white rice with side dishes of meat, chicken, fish and vegetables along with a glass of tea. There is such a rich variety in the Indonesian cuisine that one should sample specialities in each area. However, most common nationwide are "sate" (skewered grilled meat), "gado-gado" (vegetables salad with a peanut sauce), "nasi goreng" (fried rice served at anytime) and "baKmi goreng" (fried noodles). Chinese restaurants are found all over the country. There are fine restaurants specializing in Continental and Japanese and Korean cuisines.