Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed in 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.
A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include cakes made with rice flour, those made from ground rice, and those made from whole grains of rice compressed together or combined with some other binding substance.
Peranakan cuisine or Nyonya cuisine comes from the Peranakans, descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays. In Baba Malay, a female Peranakan is known as a nonya, and a male Peranakan is known as a baba. The cuisine combines Chinese, Malay, Javanese, South Indian, and other influences.
Kue is an Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert food. Kue is a fairly broad term in Indonesian to describe a wide variety of snacks including cakes, cookies, fritters, pies, scones, and patisserie. Kue are made from a variety of ingredients in various forms; some are steamed, fried or baked. They are popular snacks in Indonesia, which has the largest variety of kue. Because of the countries' historical colonial ties, Koeé (kue) is also popular in the Netherlands.
Oncom is one of the traditional staple foods of the Sundanese cuisine of Indonesia. There are two kinds of oncom: red oncom and black oncom. Oncom is closely related to tempeh; both are foods fermented using mold.
Lontong is an Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as a staple food replacement for steamed rice. The texture is similar to that of ketupat, with the difference being that the ketupat container is made from woven janur fronds, while lontong uses banana leaf instead.
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.
Pepes is an Indonesian cooking method using banana leaves as food wrappings. The banana-leaf package containing food is secured with lidi seumat, and then steamed or grilled on charcoal. This cooking technique allows the rich spice mixture to be compressed against the main ingredients inside the individual banana-leaf package while being cooked, and also adds a distinct aroma of cooked or burned banana leaf. Although being cooked simultaneously with food, the banana leaf is a non-edible material and is discarded after consuming the food.
Botok or ꦧꦺꦴꦛꦺꦴꦏ꧀(Bothok) is a traditional Javanese dish made from grated coconut flesh which has been squeezed of its coconut milk, often mixed with other ingredients such as vegetables or fish, and wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. It is commonly found in Javanese people area of Java Island (Yogyakarta Special Region, Central, and East Java. It has a soft texture like the mozzarella cheese, and is usually colored white.
Lemper is an Indonesian savoury snack made of glutinous rice filled with seasoned shredded chicken, fish abon or serundeng. The specific lemper filled with seasoned shredded chicken is called lemper ayam. The meat filling is rolled inside the rice, in a fashion similar to an egg roll; this is in turn rolled and wrapped inside a banana leaf, oil paper, plastic sheet, or tinfoil to make a packet ready for serving. If banana leaf is not available, corn husk can be used. Lemper are most often seen as snacks, but may sometimes be served as appetizers as well. Lemper usually has an elongated shape, similar to lontong.
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.
Serundeng refers to a spicy grated coconut side dish or condiment, to accompany rice in Indonesian language. Serundeng may taste sweet, or hot and spicy according to recipe variants.
Lontong cap go meh is a Chinese Indonesian take on traditional Indonesian dishes, more precisely Javanese cuisine. It is lontong rice cake served with richly-flavoured dishes which include opor ayam chicken in coconut milk, sayur lodeh vegetable soup, hot and spicy liver, hard-boiled pindang egg, koya powder made of soy and dried shrimp or beef floss, pickles, chili paste and prawn cracker. Lontong cap go meh is usually consumed by Chinese Indonesian community during the Cap go meh celebration.
Lepet (Javanese), Leupeut (Sundanese), or Lepat (Indonesian) is a type of sticky rice dumpling mixed with peanuts cooked with coconut milk and packed inside a janur or palm leaf. It is a delicacy commonly found in Javanese and Sundanese cuisine, and often consumed as a snack. It is similar to lontong, but with a stickier texture and richer flavor due to the use of coconut milk and peanuts.
Betawi cuisine is rich, diverse and eclectic, in part because the Betawi people that create them were composed from numbers of regional immigrants that came from various places in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as Chinese, Indian, Arab, and European traders, visitors and immigrants that were attracted to the port city of Batavia since centuries ago.
Ketupat, or kupat, or tipat is a Javanese rice cake packed inside a diamond-shaped container of woven palm leaf pouch, Originating in Indonesia, it is also found in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand. It is commonly described as "packed rice", although there are other types of similar packed rice such as lontong and bakchang.
Lumpia are various types of spring rolls from Indonesia and the Philippines. Lumpia are made of thin paper-like or crepe-like pastry skin called "lumpia wrapper" enveloping savory or sweet fillings. It is often served as an appetizer or snack, and might be served deep-fried or fresh (unfried). Lumpia are Indonesian and Filipino adaptations of the Fujianese rùnbǐng and Teochew popiah, usually consumed during Qingming Festival.
Indonesian noodles are a significant aspect of Indonesian cuisine which is itself very diverse. Indonesian cuisine recognizes many types of noodles, with each region of the country often developing its own distinct recipes.
