European, Chinese, Arabian or Indian, merchants who once came in search of spices soon added their own touch to the islands’ cuisine. Yet whether it’s a simple family meal or a festive occasion, the unmistakable flavours of Indonesia stand in a class of their own, a rich blend of colour and taste enhanced by myriad spices.
In traditional Indonesia, food offers a healthy balance of savoury and sweet, to be enjoyed at home or in the many food stalls lining the streets. Coconut milk and peanut sauce hold pride of place but with such a wide variety of dishes, there is something to please every palate and the most demanding gourmets.
Coconut Milk and Peanut Sauce
Coconuts are plentiful in much of the archipelago. Thick coconut milk is for savoury dishes and desserts while thin milk is for soups. The leftover flesh is shredded and mixed with vegetables or turned into the sweet and spicy serundeng, sprinkled on rice or added to beef.
Peanuts are another key ingredient in Indonesian cooking, originally imported from Mexico. Peanuts may be roasted, chopped or ground, used in marinades, garnish or dips, and yield the favourite cooking oil. Flavoured with coconut sugar, lemongrass, tamarind, ginger and much more, the sweet spicy peanut sauce is an essential accompaniment to gado gado vegetable salad, and meat or fish satay.
Traditional Food, Herbs and Spices
Except in the east where cassava, corn and sago are common, rice is the most popular dish in Indonesia, served with side helpings of vegetables and meat or fish. Rice may be plain, steamed in banana or palm leaves, or come as ‘yellow rice’ with turmeric and spices.
Traditional dishes include Rendang Padang, a hot beef curry with coconut cream, and tempeh, a healthy vegetarian protein, delicious stir fried. Rijsttafel, the festive ‘Rice Table’, can claim up to 40 dishes.
Herbs and spices range from clove, nutmeg and mace to cinnamon, coriander, ginger, garlic, black pepper, cardamom, shallots and chilli peppers introduced by the Spanish. Spices are carefully selected for every dish, varying according to regions, and usually blended into a paste.
Street food and Desserts
As elsewhere in Asia, from Pakistan to Cambodia, street food is part of life, sold from mobile kitchens or market stalls. Among Indonesian favourites are noodles and buns, meat balls, satay, fritters, mung bean porridge, soup and nasi goreng, the ubiquitous fried rice. Cakes and cookies are also popular.
For dessert, try coconut and sweet potato cake, sticky rice cake, coconut rice balls, stuffed pancakes and black rice dessert. Tropical fruit offer a refreshing option, from mango and rambutan to avocado, jackfruit, mangosteen, banana and more. Fruit can be eaten fresh, squeezed into thick juices and shakes or enjoyed in the appetising fruit and vegetable salad, known as rujak. Summer ice cream includes Celebes coconut with mango slices and fragrant Pandanus custard.
Solange Hando - I am a travel writer, editor and photographer, contributing to a range of publications in the UK and worldwide.
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