Home » Places » Asia » Indonesia’s Cuisine

Indonesia’s Cuisine

  • Blanca Valbuena
  • March 8, 2012

Indonesian food is one of the few things that is difficult to find in Manhattan. Most of my Indonesian food experiences have been sub-par. This changed when I visited Amsterdam last year. Amsterdam had a plethora of Indonesian restaurants and I fully took advantage of this.

Why is Indonesian food so incredibly good? It has a lot to do with its geographic location. It is an archipelago (17,508 islands in total) seated between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Its location made it a trading route and as such, Indonesia was influenced by the Arab lands, China, India and Europe.

When you think of Indonesian food, you should picture spices (like coriander), tropical fruits (like tamarind). It is a cornucopia of aromatics and spice. The food varies greatly by area (there are over 300 different ethnic groups in Indonesia). Meals are served family style and always are set around rice. In fact, most of the Indonesian restaurants I visited in Amsterdam offered rijsttafel: rice table; where a variety of dishes are served around rice.

Those areas that are not rice focused, set their sights on cassava, corn, and plantains. Like Latin America, these staples are either boiled, steamed or fried. Cassava (also known as yucca or singkong) is often made into a flour and used in various dishes.

The most well known cuisines of Indonesia are those of:

Java: Javanese food is luxurious and ornate. Many of its dishes have cultural significance as well. Some Javanese dishes to try are tempe (made of fermented soy beans), sayur (vegetables in sauce), and emping (fruit crackers).

Indonesia’s CuisineMinangkabau: It is also known as Padang Cuisine. Dried beef with chilies is a representative dish of this type of cuisine.

I plan to do a bit more research on Indonesian cuisine and update as I learn more. If you have a restaurant suggestion for me in the NY metro area; let me know in the comments section.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments