With 18,000 islands spanning 3.8 million square miles, Indonesia is a vast, diverse country. Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean in Southeast Asia, its strategic location along major sea routes has established the archipelago as a transit and trade hub for centuries. Even before European explorers set off on voyages of discovery during the 16th and 17th centuries, merchants and traders from China, India, the Middle East, and neighboring Siam (now Thailand) and Malacca (now part of Malaysia) flocked to the archipelago for fragrant seasonings, such as clove and nutmeg from the spice islands of Moluccas (now Maluku).
This long history of trade has influenced Indonesian culture immensely, and each region has a distinct cuisine shaped by multiple influences: Rendang from Sumatra is influenced by Indian curry; lumpia Semarang are heavily influenced by Chinese egg rolls; and breads and baked goods show strong Dutch influence because of Dutch ports along the coasts of Java, Sumatra, and Manado. Despite differences between regional cuisines, there are many similarities due to the criss-crossing of foods and ingredients across the archipelago.
Serious Eats / Qi Ai
Indonesian food is largely a cuisine of the common people, not ceremonial food. Most meals are served communally, to be eaten and enjoyed with family and friends. A typical Indonesian meal consists of a staple, most often rice, and side dishes that are shared. Common sides include vegetables and proteins like meat, seafood, or tempe. These sides can also vary by cooking method—they might be deep-fried, boiled, curried, grilled, or stewed. Thus, an Indonesian meal typically includes a blend of flavors and textures. Sambal (chile paste), kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and krupuk (savory crackers) often complement the meal.
Though there are about 1,300 ethnic groups and cuisines in Indonesia, the cuisines of Java and Sumatra seem to be more familiar to foreigners. When I ask people what Indonesian dishes they’ve tried, they tend to mention meals from Java and Sumatra, such as sate (also spelled satay), gado gado, nasi goreng, and/or rendang. However, Indonesians themselves could be to blame for their regional foods not being better known to foreigners, says Sri Owen, an Indonesian culinary expert and the author of Indonesian Regional Cooking.“It is difficult for Indonesians, especially in the provinces, to offer their own local food to visitors, partly because they know that however good it tastes it doesn’t always look very appetizing.” Furthermore, traditional cooking methods, such as stuffing bamboo stems or cooking over charcoal, may be intimidating—and not practical—for many Western cooks.
For this introductory guide to Indonesian cuisine, I’ve highlighted recipes and cooking techniques that support a basic understanding of the country’s flavors and techniques. As part of my research, I consulted Dr. Murdijati Gardjito, a retired professor who once taught at Universitas Gajah Mada in Jogjakarta, who is a major proponent of traditional Indonesian food. I also spoke with Indonesian chef and cookbook author William Wongso.
My list may not cover every region or the specialty of every Nenek (grandma), but it will get you started with some of the more popular and approachable Indonesian recipes. Cook your way through the dishes below and you’ll acquire a good foundation of knowledge about Indonesian cuisine, from which you can branch out and explore more thoroughly if you choose.
Serious Eats / Melati Citrawireja
If you live in the United States, it might be difficult to locate Indonesian ingredients at your local grocery store. Thankfully, most metropolitan cities have Asian markets that carry pantry ingredients essential to Indonesian cuisine, including palm sugar, kecap manis, sambal oelek, and jarred fried shallots. Herbs and spices integral to Indonesian cooking like chiles, lemongrass, turmeric, coriander, and cumin are also quite common at Asian markets. Ingredients like candlenuts, salam leaves, makrut lime leaves, and galangal may be harder to find but can be substituted or left out without sacrificing too much flavor. If not, many of these ingredients can be purchased online relatively easily, too.
Start With Spice Pastes
Spice pastes called bumbu bumbu (the repetition indicates plural) are essential for seasoning many Indonesian dishes. Traditional cooks use a mortar and pestle hewn from volcanic rock to grind ingredients into a paste, but modern cooks, including me, often use a food processor or blender to speed things up.
One of the most basic bumbu bumbu called bumbu putih (white spice paste) starts with garlic, shallots, and/or candlenuts, and can be easily customized to make other dishes. The spice paste often flavors nasi goreng (fried rice) and simple stir-fries. Add chiles and fresh herbs like ginger and lemongrass, and you have a basic bumbu rendang. Incorporate turmeric and coriander, and you’ll be able to whip up soto ayam, a fragrant chicken noodle soup. Made with peanuts (kacang), bumbu kacang is the base for the crowd favorite gado gado.
Packed with complex flavors, each paste has a different profile and forms the foundation for a wide range of dishes. By playing a game of mix and match—bumbu, ingredients, and cooking methods—you’ll be on your way to preparing some Indonesian favorites.