Cuisine of Indonesia

Cuisine of Indonesia

Indonesia has a lot to offer from its diverse cuisine on 17,000 islands.

In each part Indonesia has its own culinary traditions and peculiarities. They differ in cooking methods, ingredients, and eating traditions.

The cuisine of the island of Java is the most adapted to the European taste (i.e. the least exotic) – mostly dishes are prepared from vegetables, legumes, beef and chicken.

West Sumatra is famous for its restaurants of national cuisine, which, in turn, are famous not only for their spicy, unusual cuisine, but also for their unique interior and service.

In Bali, a paradise tourist island, you will find any cuisine in the world that the most spoiled tourist can wish for.

There are also quite exotic types of dishes. So, in the village of Tuban in the Indonesian province of East Java, pies made of earth are being prepared. Locals scoop up muddy soil from rice fields and make pies out of them. It is believed that these pies are very good for health.

Cooking among Indonesians has given rise to many beliefs. For example, a young girl is not recommended to sing while cooking - otherwise she will get an old man for her husband. It is also believed that a strong burning sensation in the mouth after spicy food can be eliminated by repeatedly twisting the plate, and to avoid tears when peeling onions, it is enough to pierce one of the bulbs with a knife.

As usual in Asia, the main ingredient in most Indonesian dishes is rice ("nasi"). The inhabitants of Indonesia consider rice to be the food of the gods and tell various legends about its appearance on earth - so, according to one of them, a young man who got to heaven brought rice grains from there in the cracks of his heels. Among the Batak tribe in Sumatra, boiled rice detains the soul of a sick baby - rice is so tasty that, having tasted it, the soul will no longer want to leave the child, and he will surely survive.

Many travelers, without delving deeply into the "kitchen culture" of Indonesia, believe that apart from "nasi goreng" ("nasi goreng") – fried rice with various ingredients – there are no other traditional dishes. Of course, "Nasi goreng" is the most traditional dish, and all the locals will praise and recommend it to you. But there are other traditional dishes that you should definitely try: "sate" ("sate") - seasoned grilled meat, "gado-gado" ("gado-gado") - vegetable salad with peanut sauce, "bakmi goreng" ("bakmi goreng") - fried pasta. And the Indonesian dish "Rendang", made from beef stewed for several hours in coconut milk, in September 2011 was generally recognized as the most delicious dish in the world according to the website cnngo.com . And the classic "Nasi goreng" with chicken and egg took second place in the same rating. According to the results of the voting, these two dishes surpassed the taste of such dishes as: Japanese sushi and noodles, Thai rice, Hong Kong dim sum, Chinese duck, Italian lasagna, American ice cream, French croissant, and other world delicacies.

Indonesians love different seasonings and sauces, which can be very spicy. The cuisine of Indonesia in general feels very spicy, there are many specific flavors not known in Europe, or spices are used in a special way. An amazing inflorescence of aromas and spices creates the character of this cuisine.

Derivatives of all the main national dishes are seafood, traditional rice, spices, corn, sweet potatoes, breadfruit. Salads are widespread. It should be noted rice wine - one of the national drinks - and, of course, real black coffee. The islands of the Indonesian archipelago are rightly called spice islands. Black and white pepper, tamarind, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, hot red or green capsicum, peanuts, ginger, soy, garlic are essential components of spicy seasonings that locals use in their cuisine.

Throughout the year, Indonesia amazes with an abundance of tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables. Some fruits, such as mangoes or watermelons, are seasonal, but bananas, apples, papayas, pineapples, oranges and others can be eaten all year round. In general, Indonesia is very fond of products of natural origin – for example, coconuts, palm kernel, mango and breadfruit.

Traditionally, food is served on a banana leaf and directly with the hand, but only with the right hand (the left hand is considered "unclean"). Before and after eating, the hand is washed in a special vessel with water and a piece of lemon. For Europeans, a spoon and fork are usually served, but not a knife.

Cuisine of Bali

Bali, as a "state within a state", has its own "kitchen" features. This is primarily determined by the fact that the majority of Balinese (94% of the population) profess a kind of Hinduism called "Agama Hindu Dharma". Only about 5% of the population are Muslims.

Mostly in Bali, tourists try traditional Indonesian dishes. There are also many Chinese, Thai, European dishes and restaurants. There is even Russian cuisine. But it is worth trying pure Balinese dishes:

• Bali guling (ball guling) – a suckling pig on a spit;
• bebek tutu is a duck with all kinds of spices, which is cooked for 12 hours, wrapped in a banana leaf;
• ikan pepes is a fish on a spit wrapped in a banana leaf;
• Mi goreng – fried noodles made from durum wheat flour;
• pisang molen or pisang goreng – fried bananas in dough;
• cap tea (cap cai) – vegetable stew of undercooked vegetables;
• Chumi-chumi (cumi-cumi) squid;
• udang (udang) – shrimp or udang besar (udang besar) – giant shrimp.

Special mention should be made of the abundance of seafood, including shark fin soup and lobsters and fish of all kinds, as well as oysters, giant shrimp, etc.

Drinks, booze

You can't drink tap water. Balinese say that water is suitable after boiling. But even so, it is better to still drink purchased bottled water.

Indonesians love tea and coffee. They are very proud of their local coffee and tea, which you will be offered everywhere, from the village snack bar to the chic restaurant. For the vast majority of Indonesians, lunch or dinner is unthinkable without a final glass of tea. Tea and coffee plantations are extensive and fertile.

Bajitur drink is popular – coconut milk with rice and palm sugar, air-tebu drink made from sugar cane juice, ginger tea and ice crush with beans and sugar syrup. Despite the fact that Indonesians lead an absolutely sober lifestyle of their own, for the sake of tourists, they provide them with everything they want.

In Bali you will find a rich selection of cognacs, whiskey, vodka, French and Australian wines, local drinks – for example, arak – palm or rice vodka. For beer lovers, both well—known varieties of German or Dutch beer and Bintang beer are Czech beer produced in Indonesia under license. Local beer is 2-3 times cheaper than foreign beer. Interestingly, local beer is made from the juice of palm flowers.