Indonesian Cuisine Guide: From Rendang to Home Recipes

Did You Know the World Once Named #1 and #2 from the Same Country?

In 2011, CNN, one of the world's biggest travel media outlets, published a reader poll of the world's 50 most delicious foods. The result was striking. Both first and second place went to dishes from the same country.

1st: Rendang, the dry beef curry of West Sumatra 2nd: Nasi goreng, Indonesian fried rice

That country is Indonesia, an archipelago with the world's fourth-largest population. Why does Indonesian food captivate the world so much? Because of the diversity produced by more than 17,000 islands, and the complex depth of flavor that grew as the food cultures of India, China, the Arab world, the Netherlands and the indigenous peoples melted together over centuries. The depth of it cannot be summed up in the single phrase "Indonesian food".

This guide organizes the whole picture of Indonesian cuisine by region and ingredient, and points the way to dishes you can cook tonight at home.

The "Five Pillars" for Understanding Indonesian Food

There are five keywords for understanding Indonesian cooking. Once you have these, even a dish you are eating for the first time makes you think "I see".

1. Kecap manis: the magic of sweet soy sauce

The seasoning that is the "face" of Indonesian cooking is kecap manis. It is a liquid combining the thick sweetness of boiled-down molasses with the savor of soy sauce, and it is essential to national dishes such as nasi goreng, satay and bakmi (Indonesian stir-fried noodles).

There are several theories about the origin of the word "ketchup", but the best-known is that the Hokkien "kê-tsiap" (a fermented fish or soybean liquid) became "kecap" in Malay and Indonesian, traveled to Europe via the Dutch and British, and in the 19th century became linked with tomato sauce to give American ketchup. Indonesian "kecap" lives on as a member of that family.

Substitute: warm 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp water until dissolved.

2. Terasi: a fermented shrimp umami bomb

Terasi is a solid paste of salted, fermented and dried shrimp or small fish. It gives off a very strong smell, but added to a dish it creates a distinctive savor and depth.

Many sambals contain terasi, and it is essential in nasi goreng. As a substitute, finely crushed dried shrimp comes closest in flavor.

3. Sambal: a whole family of chili sauces

Sambal can't be left out when talking about Indonesian food. It is the general name for seasonings and sauces made mainly from chiles, and the variations are very numerous.

The type of chile, and the other ingredients added (terasi, lime, tomato and so on), differ by region, and each is paired with particular dishes. Representative ones include "sambal ulek" (fresh chiles and salt), "sambal bajak" (garlic, terasi and chiles), and "sambal kecap" (a sweet soy-based version). Sambal ulek is easy to find at Asian groceries.

4. Tempeh: fermented soybeans the world is watching

Tempeh is a fermented soybean food that originated on Java. Boiled soybeans are wrapped in the mold Rhizopus oligosporus and fermented overnight, forming a solid block covered in white mycelium.

It is a fermented food like natto, but the smell is mild and it has a nutty flavor. In recent years it has spread worldwide as a vegan, plant-based food. Its protein content is about 19 g per 100 g, nearly twice that of tofu, and it is rich in fiber.

5. Galangal: a relative of ginger with a tropical aroma

Galangal is a plant in the ginger family. It looks like ginger but has a distinctive cooling aroma. It is used as the base of almost every stir-fry and stew in Indonesian cooking.

Fresh galangal is hard to find in many places, but dried powder or pastes containing galangal (such as laksa paste) can substitute.

The Five National Dishes of Indonesia

In 2018 the Indonesian government, through its tourism and creative economy ministry, officially recognized five national dishes. It was an effort aimed at spreading Indonesian food culture internationally and attracting tourism.

1. Rendang

A dish of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. Beef (or water buffalo) is simmered for 4–5 hours in coconut milk and more than 20 spices, then stir-cooked until the liquid is gone, making a "dry curry". The word comes from the Indonesian for "high heat", and it also names the cooking process itself.

2. Nasi goreng

It means "fried rice" (nasi = rice, goreng = fried). The national fried rice of Indonesia, it has a distinctive sweet-and-salty flavor from kecap manis and terasi. At home, using the previous day's cold rice is the rule. Cold rice that has lost some moisture gives the loose texture.

For the method, see the nasi goreng recipe.

3. Sate (satay)

Indonesia's signature grilled skewers. Thin slices of beef, chicken, pork (in Bali) or lamb are threaded on bamboo skewers, grilled over charcoal and eaten with peanut sauce.

Satay is now eaten across Southeast Asia, in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. Sate Madura from Madura Island is among the best known. It is served with both sweet-and-spicy peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce (kecap manis).

4. Gado-gado

"Gado-gado" is a Jakarta-region word meaning "mix-mix". It is a salad of boiled vegetables (bean sprouts, green beans, cabbage, spinach), tofu, tempeh and boiled egg, topped with peanut sauce.

It is also noted as an Indonesian vegan dish, with plenty of fiber and protein. The local way is to make the peanut sauce by frying lemongrass and galangal, but you can also make it with peanut butter, lime, sugar and soy sauce.

5. Soto

The general name for the soups most widely eaten in Indonesia. There are regional variations: soto ayam (clear chicken soup), soto Madura (rich beef soup), soto Banjar (beef soup from Borneo) and dozens of others.

In the sense that everyone from Sumatra to Papua eats it, soto may be the closest thing to Indonesia's "national food". It is loved both as home cooking and as stall fast food.

Regional Character: Indonesia Has the Food of 17,000 Islands

Indonesia is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country with the world's fourth-largest population (about 270 million). Its food culture reflects that scale, and regional differences are very large.

Java (Jakarta, Yogyakarta): the harmony of sweet and spicy

The largest island and the most populous region. The mark of Javanese food is the "balance of sweet and spicy". Sweet spiciness from kecap manis is the base.

Representative dishes are nasi goreng, bakso (beef meatball soup) and gudeg (jackfruit stewed sweet and savory). Gudeg, in particular, is young green jackfruit simmered for hours in palm sugar, and is considered "the symbol of Yogyakarta cuisine".

Sumatra (Padang, Medan): a world of heat and coconut milk

The food of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra (commonly called "Padang food") is the spiciest, most heavily spiced food culture in Indonesia. Rendang was born here.

Padang restaurants have a distinctive "nasi Padang" style. When customers sit down, 15–20 small dishes are set on the table at once and you pay for what you eat. Rendang, pedas (chile stir-fry) and gulai (coconut milk curry) are among them.

Bali: a distinctive cuisine born of Hindu culture

Bali is Indonesia's only mainly Hindu island. It is not affected by the Islamic (halal) ban on pork, and it is the one region where pork dishes developed.

Babi guling (whole roast pig) is Bali's signature dish and essential at ceremonies and special days. The whole animal is marinated in the Balinese spice paste "bumbu Bali" and roasted slowly over charcoal while being turned. To try Balinese aromas by substituting chicken at home, ayam betutu, chicken steamed in banana leaf with bumbu, is a good entry point.

Makassar (South Sulawesi): the center of beef culture

Makassar, a city in South Sulawesi, is the region of Indonesia where beef and offal dishes are most developed. Coto Makassar (beef offal soup) is a thick, rich soup eaten with rice or ketupat (rice cakes).

Sop konro is a clear soup of slowly simmered beef shank bones and cartilage, with a gentle flavor. Going further east to Maluku and Papua, there is papeda, where sago rather than rice is the staple, a good entry point to seeing Indonesian cooking as more than "rice and stir-fries".

A Food Culture Layered by History: Why So Complex and Delicious

The richness of Indonesian food comes from a history of standing at the crossroads of cultures for several hundred years.

Indigenous food wisdom (up to the 15th century)

The oldest food culture is that of the indigenous peoples of Borneo, Java and Sumatra. Their staples were sago palm, bananas, taro, fish and wild pig, and they early developed the method of wrapping food in leaves and steaming it.

The form of tumpeng (a cone of rice) also originates in this era, and it was designated an "official national dish" by the Indonesian government in 2014. The mountain shape is a symbol of "prosperity and abundance" and expresses thanks to the gods of agriculture.

Indian and Arab influence (13th to 15th centuries)

Through the spice trade, Indian merchants and Arab Muslim traders came to Indonesia, bringing curries and spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin. At the same time Islam spread, forming the basis of a food culture (halal) in which about 87% of the population is still Muslim today.

Gulai (the Indonesian version of coconut milk curry) is a localized version of Indian curry.

Chinese influence (15th to 20th centuries)

Exchange with China, continuing from the Majapahit kingdom, brought stir-frying techniques, noodles, tofu and soybean processing. There is a theory that tempeh, too, developed independently after soybean fermentation technology came from China.

Mie goreng (fried noodles), bakso (beef meatballs) and lumpia (spring rolls) are all transformed forms of Chinese-descended food culture. Chinese Indonesians make up about 3% of the population, but their influence on food culture is immeasurable.

The Dutch colonial period (17th to early 20th century)

The Dutch ruled Indonesia as a colony for about 300 years from 1602. Rijsttafel ("rice table") is a style devised by the Dutch, an adaptation for Europeans of the Indonesian way of eating with many small dishes.

The chile (native to South America) that the Portuguese brought in the 16th century and the explosive spread of sambal culture is also a legacy of this era. Even today in the Netherlands, Indonesian food is established as a "quasi-national food".

Indonesian Dishes You Can Make Elsewhere: Candidates for Tonight's Dinner

Compared with how complicated Indonesian food looks, many dishes are actually easy to make at home.

Where Indonesian Food Sits Within Southeast Asian Food

Within the category of Southeast Asian cooking, Indonesian food has several unique features.

Compared with Thai food: Thai food puts forward the freshness of herbs (basil, coriander) and the sourness of fish sauce (nam pla), while Indonesian food centers on the depth of spices and the sweetness of coconut milk. The structure of sweet and spicy is different. Thai gapao rice is a leading, popular Southeast Asian dish, and like Indonesian food is loved as an everyday rice dish.

Compared with Vietnamese food: Vietnamese food is marked by fermentation, fresh herbs and texture, while Indonesian food mostly draws out complex flavor by cooking (stir-frying and stewing). Dishes that rely on freshness like banh mi are almost nonexistent in Indonesian cooking.

Relation to Malaysian food: Indonesia and Malaysia are very close ethnically and culturally, and rendang, satay and nasi goreng are "shared cultural heritage" of both countries. Arguments over "which one is the original" arise from time to time. Just as pad thai is Thailand's national dish, nasi goreng is established as a national dish in both countries.

A Guide to Getting Ingredients for Indonesian Cooking

More Dishes to Cook

• Khao soi: Uses similar ingredients and aromas from the same region.
• Ayam betutu: Go deeper into Balinese spice pastes and wrapped, steamed cooking.
• Bún bò Huế (in Japanese): Uses similar ingredients and aromas from the same region.
• Mie goreng: Continue with another dish from the same country's table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Indonesian food spicy?

It varies greatly by region. West Sumatran (Padang) food is very spicy, Javanese food is relatively mild with its sweet-spicy balance, and Balinese food is spicy but sambal is often served on the side. If you say "kurang pedas", meaning "less spicy", the kitchen will accommodate you.

Is tempeh drawing attention as a health food?

Attention is growing. It is rich in soy protein (about 19 g per 100 g), fiber and vitamin B12, and is becoming established as a vegan and plant-based food.

What is the difference between nasi goreng and Chinese-style fried rice?

The biggest difference is the seasoning. Nasi goreng uses kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and terasi (shrimp paste), giving a sweet-and-salty flavor with a distinctive "fermented" note. The flavor is fundamentally different from the soy sauce used in ordinary fried rice. A fried egg and krupuk (shrimp crackers) on top are also characteristic of nasi goreng.

Is rendang the same as curry?

It is different. Rendang is a "dried meat dish" and, unlike curry, leaves no sauce. The method is similar (simmering in coconut milk and spices), but in the end the liquid is evaporated completely so that the meat and spices become one.

Are there allergy cautions in Indonesian food?

Peanut allergy: Peanut sauce (satay, gado-gado) is used in large amounts, so be careful. Shrimp allergy: Terasi (shrimp paste) is used as a hidden seasoning in almost every dish. If you have a shrimp allergy, always check. Gluten: Mie goreng (made with wheat noodles) contains gluten.

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