Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed 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, with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Chinese Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of Chinese cuisine, and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients, such as kecap manis, palm sugar, peanut sauce, chili, santan and local spices to form a hybrid Chinese-Indonesian cuisine. Some of the dishes and cakes share the same style as in Malaysia and Singapore, known as Nyonya cuisine by the Peranakan.
Nasi goreng is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish from Malay Archipelago. Nasi goreng is one of Indonesia's national dishes, and also a common dish in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Nasi goreng has gained popularity in Sri Lanka through migrations from the Malay Archipelago, in countries like Suriname via Indonesian immigrant communities, and in the Netherlands through its colonial ties with Indonesia. Nasi goreng is distinguished from other Asian fried rice preparations by its distinct smoky aroma, and caramelised yet savoury undertones of flavour. There is no single defined recipe for nasi goreng, and its composition and preparation varies greatly from household to household.
Mie goreng, also known as bakmi goreng, is an Indonesian style of stir-fried noodle dish. It is made with thin yellow noodles stir fried in cooking oil with garlic, onion or shallots, fried prawn, chicken, beef, or sliced bakso (meatballs), chili, Chinese cabbage, cabbages, tomatoes, egg, and other vegetables. Ubiquitous in Indonesia, it is sold by food vendors from street hawkers (warungs) to high-end restaurants.
Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java.
Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of the Sundanese people of Western Java, and Banten, Indonesia. It is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia. Sundanese food is characterised by its freshness; the famous lalab eaten with sambal and also karedok demonstrate the Sundanese fondness for fresh raw vegetables. Unlike the rich and spicy taste, infused with coconut milk and curry of Minangkabau cuisine, the Sundanese cuisine displays the simple and clear taste; ranged from savoury salty, fresh sourness, mild sweetness, to hot and spicy.
Bumbu is the Indonesian word for a blend of spices and for pastes made from these blends, and it commonly appears in the names of spice mixtures, sauces and seasoning pastes. The official Indonesian language dictionary describes bumbu as "various types of herbs and plants that have a pleasant aroma and flavour — such as ginger, turmeric, galangal, nutmeg and pepper — used to enhance the flavour of the food."
Woku is an Indonesian type of bumbu found in Manado cuisine of North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Colo-colo is an acidic condiment commonly found in Maluku archipelago, Indonesia. It is believed to have originated in Ambon city, and accordingly is often described as Ambon's sambal. Colo-colo is similar to Manado's dabu-dabu, as they both use many chopped red chili peppers, bird's eye chili, shallots, red and green tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and sugar, mixed with fresh calamansi juice or locally known as lemon cui or jeruk kesturi.. The main difference is that colo-colo recipe often includes additional ingredients, such as chopped lemon basil, kenari nut, and tahi minyak or ampas minyak, or caramelized rarobang. As a result, colo-colo is darker and more oily than dabu-dabu.
Ayam goreng is an Indonesian and Malaysian dish consisting of chicken deep fried in oil. Ayam goreng literally means "fried chicken" in Malay, Indonesian and also in many Indonesian regional languages.
Ayam bakar is an Indonesian and Malay dish, consisting of charcoal-grilled chicken. Ayam bakar literally means "grilled chicken" in Indonesian and Malay.
Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. Sambal is an Indonesian loanword of Javanese origin. It originated from the culinary traditions of Indonesia and is also an integral part of the cuisines of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Sri Lanka. It has also spread through overseas Indonesian populations to the Netherlands and Suriname.
Ikan bakar is an Indonesian and Malay dish, prepared with charcoal-grilled fish or other forms of seafood. Ikan bakar literally means "grilled fish" in Indonesian and Malay. Ikan bakar differs from other grilled fish dishes in that it often contains flavorings like bumbu, kecap manis, sambal, and is covered in a banana leaf and cooked on a charcoal fire.
Sweet soy sauce is a sweetened aromatic soy sauce, originating in Indonesia, which has a darker color, a viscous syrupy consistency and a molasses-like flavor due to the generous addition of palm sugar or jaggery. Kecap manis is widely used with satay. It is similar to, though finer in flavor than, Chinese Tianmian sauce (tianmianjiang). It is by far the most popular type of soy sauce employed in Indonesian cuisine, and accounts for an estimated 90 percent of the nation's total soy sauce production.
Seblak is a Sundanese savoury and spicy dish, originating from West Java, Indonesia. Made of wet krupuk cooked with protein sources in spicy sauce. Seblak is a specialty of Bandung city, West Java, Indonesia. Seblak is common at restaurants, warungs, and gerobak (cart) street vendors. It is one of the most popular street foods in Indonesia, especially in Bandung and Jakarta.
Balado is a type of hot and spicy bumbu found in Minang cuisine of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It has since spread through the rest of Indonesia and also Malaysia especially in Negeri Sembilan. Balado sauce is made by stir frying ground red hot chili pepper with other spices including garlic, shallot, tomato and kaffir lime in coconut or palm oil.
Udang balado or sambal goreng udang is a hot and spicy shrimp dish commonly found in Indonesian cuisine. It is made of shrimp, either peeled or unpeeled, stir-fried in hot and spicy sambal paste in a small amount of cooking oil.
