Indonesian
cuisine is diverse, in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands
of the total 18,000 in the world's largest archipelago. Many regional cuisines
exist, often based upon cultural and foreign
influences. Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different
influences.
Throughout its history, Indonesia has
been involved in trade due to its location and natural resources. Additionally,
Indonesia’s indigenous techniques and ingredients were influenced by India, the
Middle East, China, and finally Europe. Spanish and Portuguese traders brought New World produce even before the Dutch came to
colonize most of the archipelago. The
Indonesian islands The Moluccas (Maluku),
which are famed as "the Spice Islands", also contributed to the
introduction of native spices, such as cloves
and nutmeg, to Indonesian and global cuisine. Five main Indonesian
cooking methods are goreng
(frying), bakar
or panggang (grilling), tumis
(stir frying), rebus
(boiling) and kukus
(steaming).
Some popular Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng, gado-gado, sate, and soto are ubiquitous in the country and considered as Indonesian national dishes.
Sumatran cuisine, for example, often has Middle Eastern and
Indian influences, featuring curried meat and vegetables such as gulai and kari, while Javanese cuisine is more indigenous.[1] The cuisines of Eastern Indonesia are similar to
Polynesian and Melanesian cuisine. Elements of Chinese cuisine can be seen in
Indonesian cuisine: foods such as bakmi
(noodles), bakso
(meat or fish balls), and lumpia (spring rolls) have been completely
assimilated.
Some popular dishes that originated in
Indonesia are now common across much of Southeast Asia. Indonesian dishes such
as satay,
beef rendang, and sambal
are also favoured in Malaysia and Singapore. Soy-based dishes, such as variations of tofu
(tahu) and tempe, are also very popular. Tempe is regarded as a Javanese
invention, a local adaptation of soy-based food fermentation and production.
Another fermented food is oncom,
similar in some ways to tempe
but using a variety of bases (not only soy), created by different fungi, and
particularly popular in West Java.
Indonesian meals are commonly eaten
with the combination of a spoon in the right hand and fork
in the left hand (to push the food onto the spoon), although in many parts of
the country, such as West Java and West Sumatra, it is also common to eat with one's hands. In
restaurants or households that commonly use bare hands to eat, like in seafood
foodstalls, traditional Sundanese and Minangkabau restaurants,
or East Javanese pecel lele
(fried catfish with sambal)
and ayam goreng (fried chicken) food stalls, they usually
serve kobokan, a bowl of tap
water with a slice of lime in it to give a fresh scent. This bowl of water
should not to be consumed, however; it is used to wash one's hand before and
after eating. Eating with chopsticks is generally
only found in food stalls or restaurants serving Indonesian adaptations of
Chinese cuisine, such as bakmie
or mie ayam (chicken noodle)
with pangsit (wonton), mie goreng (fried noodles), and kwetiau goreng (fried flat rice noodles).
