Indonesia is well-known for cultural diversity, and food is not an exception.
Indonesian cuisine is a collection of different regional culinary traditions of the islanders.
Lying stretched along the Equator with over 6000 islands are populated, Indonesia food including a wide variety of recipes and cuisines, estimated about 5,350 traditional recipes, with 30 of them are considered the most important.
The most popular food in Indonesia is rice, noodle, and soup dishes. If you are looking for the most famous Indonesian food to eat on your Indonesia tour, you’ve come to the right place.
Let check it out on the list below!
- Sambal
While technically more of a condiment, the chili-based sauce known as sambal is a staple at all Indonesian tables.
Dishes aren’t complete unless they have a hearty dollop of the stuff, a combination of chilies, sharp fermented shrimp paste, tangy lime juice, sugar, and salt all pounded up with mortar and pestle.
So beloved is sambal, some restaurants have made it their main attraction, with options that include young mango, mushroom, and durian.
- Satay
These tasty meat skewers cook up over coals so hot they need fans to waft the smoke away.
Whether it’s chicken, goat, mutton, or rabbit, the scrappy morsels get marinated in turmeric, barbecued, and then bathed in a hearty dose of peanut sauce.
Other nations now lay claim to sate, but Indonesians consider it a national dish conceived by street vendors and popularized by Arab traders. Each vendor seeks distinction, but “sate madura” — served with rice cakes (ketupat) and diced cucumber and onion — is distinguished by its boat-shaped street carts.
- Bakso
A favorite among students, this savory meatball noodle soup gained international fame when U.S. President Barack Obama remembered it as one of his favorites during a visit to Jakarta.
The meatballs — springy or rubbery, the size of golf balls or bigger — are made from chicken, beef, pork, or some amorphous combination of them all.
Sold mostly from pushcarts called kaki lima, bakso comes garnished with fried shallots, boiled egg and wontons.
- Soto
This traditional meat soup comprises a broth and ingredients that vary across the archipelago.
Common street versions are made of a simple, clear soup flavored with chicken, goat, or beef.
In Jakarta, home of the indigenous Betawi, Soto Betawi garners fame with its sweet, creamy, coconut-milk base. It’s usually topped with crispy shallots and fried garlic, and as much or little sambal as taste buds can take.
- Nasi goreng
Considered Indonesia’s national dish, this take on Asian fried rice is often made with sweet, thick soy sauce called kecap (pronounced ketchup) and garnished with acar, pickled cucumber, and carrots.
