Indonesian cuisine

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 600 ethnic groups.

Indonesian dishes have rich flavours; most often described as savory, hot and spicy, and also combination of basic tastes such as sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

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.

The diversity ranges from ancient bakar batu or stone-grilled yams and boar practiced 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.

[23] By the 13th to 15th century, coastal Indonesian polities began to absorb culinary influences from India and the Middle East, as evidence with the adoption of curry-like recipes in the region.

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.

[26] Rice is a staple for all classes in contemporary Indonesia,[7][27] and it holds the central place in Indonesian culture: it shapes the landscape; is sold at markets; and is served in most meals both as a savoury and a sweet food.

Evidence for the earliest cultivation come from the eighth century stone inscriptions from the central island of Java, which shows that kings levied taxes in rice.

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.

Dried cassava, locally known as tiwul, is an alternate staple food in arid areas of Java such as Gunung Kidul and Wonogiri, while other roots and tubers are eaten especially in hard times.

Spinach and corn are used in simple clear watery vegetable soup sayur bayam bening flavoured with temu kunci, garlic and shallot.

Sayur sop is cabbage, cauliflower, potato, carrot, with macaroni spiced with black pepper, garlic and shallot in chicken or beef broth.

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.

Cooking utensils are wajan (wok), penggorengan (frying pan), panci (cauldron), knives, several types of spoon and fork, parutan (shredder), cobek and ulekan (stone mortar and pestle).

Initially during the early years of Indonesian independence, the ubiquitous and highly popular nasi goreng was considered the national dish of the republic, albeit at that time was unofficial.

[43][11] 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.

Lombok's sasak people enjoy spicy food such as ayam taliwang which is roasted chicken served with peanut, tomato chilli and lime dip.

The Maluku Islands' cuisine is rich with seafood, while the native Papuan food usually consists of roasted boar with tubers such as sweet potato and taro.

Indonesian influence is pervasive in the central state of Negeri Sembilan, which was settled largely by Minangkabau people hailing from West Sumatra and is, thus, reflected in their culture, history and cuisine.

[59] Popular Javanese-origin dishes in Johor includes ayam penyet, nasi ambeng, telur pindang, sayur lodeh, mee rebus and pechal.

[55] 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.

[66][67] 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.

In eastern Indonesia, such as on the islands of Papua and Timor, where the climate is often much drier, the meals can be centred around other sources of carbohydrates such as sago or root vegetables and starchy tubers.

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.

Sekoteng, a ginger based hot drink which includes peanuts, diced bread, and pacar cina, can be found in Jakarta and West Java.

In most cities, it is common to see Chinese dishes such as bakpao (steamed buns with sweet and savoury fillings), bakmie (noodles), and bakso (meatballs) sold by street vendors and restaurants, often adapted to become Indonesian-Chinese cuisine.

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.

[78] 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.

Strawberry, melon, apple, pear and 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.