Regional Dishes of Indonesian Cuisine

West Java :Sundanese cuisine

A textural specialty of Sunda (West Java) is karedok, a fresh salad made with long beans, bean sprouts, and cucumber with a spicy sauce. Other Sundanese dishes include mie kocok which is a beef and egg noodle soup, and soto Bandung, a beef and vegetable soup with daikon and lemon grass. A hawker favourite is kupat tahu (pressed rice, bean sprouts, and tofu with soy and peanut sauce). Colenak (roasted cassava with sweet coconut sauce) and ulen (roasted brick of sticky rice with peanut sauce) are dishes usually eaten warm.

Central Java :Javanese cuisine

The food of Central Java is renowned for its sweetness, and the dish of gudeg, a curry made from jackfruit, is a particularly sweet. The city of Yogyakarta is renowned for its ayam goreng (fried chicken) and kelepon (green rice-flour balls with palm sugar filling). Surakarta's (Solo) specialities include Nasi liwet (rice with coconut milk, unripe papaya, garlic and shallots, served with chicken or egg) and serabi (coconut milk pancakes topped with chocolate, banana or jackfruit). Other Central Javanese specialities pecel (peanut sauce with spinach and bean sprouts), lotek (peanut sauce with vegetable and pressed rice), and opor ayam (braised chicken in coconut sauce).

East Java

The food of East Java is similar to that of Central Java. East Java foods tend to be less sweet and spicier compare to the Central Java ones. Fish and fish/seafood products are quite extensive to be used such as terasi (dried shrimp paste) and petis udang (shrimp paste). Some of the popular foods are Lontong Kupang (Tiny Clams Soup with Rice Cakes), Lontong Balap (Bean Sprouts and Tofu with Rice Cakes), Sate Klopo (Coconut Beef Satay), Semanggi Surabaya (Marsilea Leaves with Spicy Sweet Potato Sauce), 'Pecel Lele (deep fried catfish served with rice and sambal), Rawon (Dark Beef Soup). Food from Malang includes bakwan Malang (meatball soup with won ton and noodles) and arem aream (pressed rice, tempe, sprouts, soy sauce, coconut, and peanuts.

Madura

Madura is an island on the northeastern coast of Java and administered as part of the East Java province. Like the East Java foods which use petis udang, Madura foods add petis ikan which is made from fish instead of shrimp. The Madura style satay is probably the most popular satay variants in Indonesia. Some of its popular dishes are Sate Ayam Madura (Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce), Soto Madura (Beef Soup). Madura dishes are often saltier than other East Java foods.

Bali

Balinese dishes include lawar (chopped coconut, garlic, chilli, with pork or chicken meat and blood). Bebek betutu is duck stuffed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and coconut husks cooked in a pit of embers. Balinese sate, known as sate lilit, is made from spiced mince pressed onto skewers which are often lemon grass sticks. Babi guling is a spit-roasted pig stuffed with chilli, turmeric, garlic, and ginger. Basa gede or basa rajang is a spice paste that is a basic ingredient in many Balinese dishes.

North Sumatra

Arab, Persian, and Indian traders influenced food in Aceh although flavours have changed to be little like their original form. Amongst these are curry dishes known as kare or gulai, which are rich, coconut-based dishes traditionally made with beef, goat, fish or poultry, but are now also made with tofu, vegetables, and jackfruit. The popular Aceh food such as roti cane and mie aceh. Batak people use either pork or even dog to make sangsang. Another Batak pork specialty is babi panggang in which the meat is boiled in vinegar and pig blood before being roasted. Another batak dish, Ayam namargota, is chicken cooked in spices and blood. Another notable Batak dish is arsik, the carp fish cooked with spices and herbs. Lada rimba is strong pepper used by Bataks.

West Sumatra : Minangkabau cuisine

The hidang style Padang food served at Sederhana restaurant, all of the bowls of food are laid out in front of customer, the customer only pay for whatever bowl they eat from.

Buffaloes are a symbol of West Sumatra and are used in rendang, a rich and spicy buffalo meat or beef dish. Padang food comes from West Sumatra. The Padang food restaurant chains can be found throughout Indonesia and neighboring countries, thus render it as probably the most popular regional dish in Indonesia. Dishes from the region include nasi kapau which is similar to Padang food but uses more vegetables. Ampiang dadiah (buffalo yogurt with palm sugar syrup, coconut flesh and rice) and bubur kampiun (Mung bean porridge with banana and rice yogurt) are other west Sumatran specialties.

South Sumatra

The city of Palembang is the culinary centre of South Sumatra and is renowned for its pempek, a deep fried fish and sago dumpling that is also known as empek-empek. Also pempek derivatives dishes such as tekwan soup of pempek dumpling, mushroom, vegetables, and shrimp; lenggang, pempek slices in omelette. Mie celor is a noodle dish with egg in coconut milk and dried shrimp is also Palembang specialties. South Sumatra is also home to pindang, a spicy fish soup with soy and tamarind. Ikan brengkes is fish in a spicy durian-based sauce. Tempoyak is a sauce of shrimp paste, lime juice, chilli and fermented durian, and sambal buah is a chilli sauce made from fruit.

North Sulawesi

Minahasan cuisine from North Sulawesi features heavy use of meat such as pork, fowl, and seafood. "Woku" is a type of seafood dish with generous use of spices, often making up half the dish. Ingredients of woku include lemongrass, lime leaves, chili peppers, spring onion, shallots, either sautéed with meat, or wrapped around fish and grilled covered in banana leaves. Other ingredients such as turmeric and ginger are often added to create a version of woku.

Foreign colonial influence also played a role in shaping Minahasan cuisine. Brenebon (from Dutch "Bruin" (brown) and "Boon" (bean)) is a pork shank bean stew spiced with nutmeg and clove. Roast pork similar to lechon in the Philippines or pig roast in Hawaii are served in special occasions, especially weddings. Other unusual and exotic meats such as dog, bat, and forest rat are also regularly served in North Sulawesi region. Paniki is the bat dish of Minahasa.

South Sulawesi

Makassar is one the culinary center in Indonesia. Home of some Bugis and Makassar delicacies such as Coto, Konro, Pallubasa and Mie Kering. As a big fish market center, Makassar is also famous for its seafood. Sop Sodara from Pangkep and Kapurung from Palopo are also famous dishes of South Sulawesi.

Nusa Tenggara

The savory and sweet shrimp paste from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, is called lengkare

With a drier climate, there is less rice a more sago, corn, cassava, and taro compared to central and western Indonesia. Fish is popular including sepat, which is shredded fish in coconut and young-mango sauce. Lombok's sasak people enjoy spicy food such as ayam taliwang which is roasted chicken served with peanut, tomato chilli and lime dip. Pelecing is a spicy sauce used in many dishes made with chilli, shrimp paste, and tomato. A local shrimp paste called lengkare is used on the island of Lombok. Sares is made from chilli, coconut juice and banana palm pith and is sometimes mixed with meat. Non meat dishes include kelor (hot soup with vegetables), serebuk (vegetables mixed with coconut), and timun urap (cucumber with coconut, onion and garlic). 

Maluku and Papua

The Maluku Islands' cuisine is rich with seafoods, while the native Papuan food usually consist of boar with tubers such as sweet potato. The staple food of Maluku and Papua is Papeda, usually eaten with yellow soup made from tuna, red snapper or other fishes spiced with turmeric, lime, and other spices.

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