Food

With 17,000 islands to choose from, Indonesian food is an umbrella term covering a vast variety of cuisines, but if used without further qualifiers the term tends to mean the food originally from the central and eastern parts of the main island Java. All too many backpackers seem to fall into a rut of eating nothing but nasi goreng (fried rice), but there are much more interesting options lurking about if you're adventurous and take the trouble to seek it out. Local flavors do tend to be rather more simple, with the exception of Padang and Manado dishes, than those in Malaysia or Thailand though, the predominant flavorings being peanuts and chillies, and the Javanese like their food rather sweet.

The main staple is rice (nasi), served up in many forms including:

bubur nasi, rice porridge with toppings, popular at breakfast
lontong, rice packed tightly into bamboo containers
nasi goreng, the ubiquitous fried rice
nasi kuning, yellow spiced rice, originally a festive ceremonial dish
nasi padang, white steamed rice served with numerous curries and other toppings, originally from Padang but assimilated throughout the country with lots of variations and adjustments to taste
nasi timbel, white steamed rice wrapped in a banana leaf (looks pretty but doesn't add any flavor)
nasi uduk, slightly sweet rice cooked with coconut milk, eaten with omelette and fried chicken; popular at breakfast
Noodles (mi or mie) come in a good second in the popularity contest. Worth a special mention is Indomie, no less than the world's largest instant noodle manufacturer. A pack at the supermarket costs under Rp 1000 and some stalls will boil or fry them up for you for as little as 2000 Rp, or even more delicious with egg added.

bakmi, thin egg noodles usually served boiled with a topping of your choice (chicken, mushroom, etc)
kuetiaw, flat rice noodles most commonly fried up with soy sauce
Soups (soto) and watery curries are also common:

bakso/baso ("BAH-so"), meatballs and noodles in chicken broth
rawon, spicy beef soup
sayur asam vegetables in a sour soup of tamarind
sayur lodeh, vegetables in a soup of coconut milk and fish
soto ayam, chicken soup Indonesian style with chicken shreds, vermicelli, and chicken broth and various local ingredients
Popular main dishes include:


Beef sateayam bakar, grilled chicken
cap cay, Chinese-style stir-fried vegetables
gado-gado, boiled vegetables with peanut sauce
gudeg, jackfruit curry from Yogyakarta.
ikan bakar, grilled fish
karedok, similar to gado-gado, but the vegetables are finely chopped and mostly raw
perkedel, deep-fried patties of potato and meat or vegetables (adopted from the Dutch frijkadel)
sate (satay), grilled chicken and lamb
Chillies (cabe or lombok) are made into a vast variety of sauces and dips known as sambal. The simplest and perhaps most common is sambal ulek, which is just chillies and salt with perhaps a dash of lime pounded together. There are many other kinds of sambal like sambal pecel (with peanut), sambal terasi (with shrimp paste), sambal tumpeng, etc. Many of these can be very spicy indeed, so be careful if you're asked whether you would like your dish pedas (spicy)!

Crackers known as kerupuk (or keropok, it's the same word spelled differently) accompany almost every meal and are a traditional snack too. They can be made from almost any grain, fruit, vegetable or seed imaginable, including many never seen outside Indonesia, but perhaps the most common is the light pink keropok udang, made with dried shrimp.

If you are daring enough to try the spiciest and even outlandish local foods, look for Batak eateries (Lapo) and Manadonese eateries. These two ethnicities have a different way of cooking than the standard Javanese and Padang style. Very hot and spicy, with unusual ingredients like wild boar, pork cooked in blood, dog and bat meat, all of which are "haram" (not halal) for Muslims. Since they usually cook with pork fat, tamed Muslim-friendly versions are availables in malls and food courts, but it's worth it to seek out the real thing.

While Indonesians happily eat anything that walks, crawls, flies or swims, vegetarians will be happy to know that tofu (tahu) and its chunkier, indigenous cousin tempeh are also an essential part of the diet. Vegetarianism as such is, however, poorly understood and avoiding fish and shrimp-based condiments is a challenge.

For Muslims travellers, Indonesia can be considered as safe as most of the times they would only serve "halal" food, so most of the eateries won't serve you pig, dog, frog, and other "haram" ingredients. But to be sure, you can look for "halal" sign if you're eating in restaurants, or just simply ask. Do this especially when you are eating in restaurant of Batak, Manadonese (Minahasan), Balinese, and Chinese cuisine. Most of big chain family restaurants such as McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and others have halal certification.


Mangos (mangga)
Snakefruit (salak)Dessert in the Western sense is not common in Indonesia, but there are plenty of snacks to tickle your sweet tooth. Kue covers a vast array of traditional cakes and pastries, all colorful, sweet, and usually a little bland, with coconut, rice flour and sugar being the main ingredients. Es teler, ice mixed with fruits and topped with coconut cream or condensed milk, comes in infinite variations and is a popular choice on a hot day.

Perhaps the cheapest, tastiest and healthiest option, though, is to buy some fresh fruit, which is available throughout the year, although individual fruits do have seasons. Popular options include mango (mangga), papaya (papaya), banana (pisang), starfruit (belimbing) and guava (jambu), but more exotic options you're unlikely to see outside Indonesia include the scaly-skinned crisp snakefruit (salak) and the alien-looking local passionfruit (markisa). Durian (from Indonesian word "duri"=spike or thorn) is an exotic, light green, spiny, melon-like fruit with strong odor. Durian is prohibited in most hotels and taxis.