The Complete Indonesian Cookbook

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The collection also showcases regional dishes, including fragrant coconut curries, tasty laksas, fortifying sotos, and traditional desserts.The 150 accessible recipes have been adapted for home cooks, with easily-sourced ingredients and uncomplicated cooking methods. With an introduction to Indonesian food culture, stunning images of recipes and local culture, and personal stories that reveal the rich history and inspiration behind each recipe, this is the perfect companion to I a b Rochman, Fathur (20 July 2021). " "Indonesia Spice Up the World" to boost culinary industry: Uno". Antara News . Retrieved 27 March 2022. Snake Fruit: If you want to try an exotic fruit, Salak, might be the one! Snake fruit is found in both sour and sweet varieties and has a snakeskin-like peel that you remove to reveal the white fruit inside.

While most of Indonesian grocery products and food served in mid to upperscale eating establishments maintain food hygiene standard ranges from good to acceptable— regulated and supervised by Badan Pengawasan Obat dan Makanan (Indonesian Food and Drug Administration)— some warung traditional foodstalls and street vendors might have poor hygiene. The tropical microbes also might contribute to food poisoning cases mostly gastroenteritis, especially among foreigners during their stay in Indonesia. [72] It is advisable to drink bottled or boiled drinking water, or choose cooked hot food instead of uncooked room temperatured ones sold by street vendors. For example, when consuming food sold by street vendors, consuming hot cooked mie ayam or soto is much safer than having gado-gado or fruit rujak. The Dutch arrived in Indonesia in the 16th century in search of spices. When the Dutch East India Company (VOC) went bankrupt in 1800, Indonesia became a treasured colony of the Netherlands. [49] Through colonialism, Europeans introduced bread, cheese, barbecued steak and pancake. Bread, butter and margarine, chocolate sprinkles, sandwiches filled with ham, cheese or fruit jam, poffertjes, pannekoek and Dutch cheeses are commonly consumed by colonial Dutch and Indos during the colonial era. Some of native upperclass ningrat (nobles) and educated native were exposed to European cuisine; This cuisine was held in high esteem as the cuisine of the upper class of Dutch East Indies society. Vegetables like winged bean, tomato, cucumber and the small variety of bitter melon are commonly eaten raw, like in lalab. The large bitter melon variety is usually boiled. Kecombrang and papaya flower buds are a common Indonesian vegetable. Urap is seasoned and spiced shredded coconut mixed together with vegetables, asinan betawi are preserved vegetables. Gado-gado and pecel are a salad of boiled vegetables dressed in a peanut-based spicy sauce, while karedok is its raw version. Sambal Tomat: This sambal uses crushed tomato and sugar to make a sweeter version of this spicy condiment. The tomato is stir-fried to create a paste.

Depending on where you are, the spices, sauce, marinade and side dishes will vary but the flavour and cooking technique makes this dish simple and delicious no matter what accompanies it.

The good news is that many of the above Indonesian dishes are customisable to meet the majority of dietary requirements. However, if you are travelling with an allergy, do be mindful of ingredients such as peanuts or soy as they may be present in cooking oil or within condiments. Look out for nuts if you have an allergy.Soy sauce is also an important flavourings in Indonesian cuisine. Kecap asin (salty or common soy sauce) was adopted from Chinese cuisine, however Indonesian developed their own kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) with generous addition of palm sugar into soy sauce. Sweet soy sauce is an important marinade for barbecued meat and fish, such as satay and grilled fishes. Sweet soy sauce is also an important ingredient for semur, Indonesian stew. a b Hutabarat, Johannes. "Days of health: Indonesia enters vegetarian food era". The Jakarta Post . Retrieved 24 August 2023. The fire used in cooking can be either a strong fire or a small fire for slow cooking. Cooking nasi goreng usually employs strong fire, while authentic rendang for example requires a small fire for slow cooking of beef, spices, and coconut milk until the meat is caramelised and all the coconut milk's liquid has evaporated. Traditional Indonesian dapur ( kitchen) usually employs firewood-fuelled kitchen stove, while the contemporary household today uses liquefied petroleum gas-fuelled stove or an electric stove. The ingredients could be cut into pieces, sliced thinly, or ground into a paste. Cooking utensils are wajan ( wok), penggorengan ( frying pan), panci ( cauldron), knives, several types of spoon and fork, parutan (shredder), cobek and ulekan (stone mortar and pestle). Traditionally Indonesians use a stone mortar and a pestle to grind the spices and ingredients into coarse or fine pastes. Today most households use blender or food processor for the task. Traditional Indonesian cooking wares are usually made from stone, earthenware pottery, wood, and woven bamboo or a rattan container or filter, while contemporary cooking wares, plates and containers use metals – iron, tin, stainless steel, aluminium, ceramics, plastics, and also glass.

The Maluku Islands' cuisine is rich with seafood, while the native Papuan food usually consists of roasted boar with tubers such as sweet potato and taro. Various types of ikan bakar (grilled fish) or seafood are eaten with spicy colo-colo condiment. The staple food of Maluku and Papua is sago, either as a pancake or sago congee called papeda, usually eaten with yellow soup made from tuna, red snapper or other fishes spiced with turmeric, lime, and other spices. Albala, K. ed., 2016. At the Table: Food and Family around the World: Food and Family around the World. ABC-CLIO. Initially during the early years of Indonesian independence, the ubiquitous and extremely popular nasi goreng was considered the national dish of the republic, albeit at that time was unofficial. [40] [9] Its simplicity and versatility has contributed to its popularity and made it as a staple among Indonesian households—colloquially considered the most "democratic" dish since the absence of an exact and rigid recipe has allowed people to do anything they want with it. [41] Nasi goreng that is commonly consumed daily in Indonesian households was considered the quintessential dish that represent an Indonesian family. It is in the menu, introduced, offered and served in Indonesian Theatre Restaurant within the Indonesian pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Howard Palfrey Jones, the US ambassador to Indonesia during the last years of Sukarno's reign in the mid 1960s, in his memoir "Indonesia: The Possible Dream", said that he likes nasi goreng. He described his fondness for nasi goreng cooked by Hartini, one of Sukarno's wives, and praised it as the most delicious nasi goreng he ever tasted. [40] Nevertheless, other widely popular Indonesian dishes, such as satay, [12] soto [13] and gado-gado [11] are also considered strong contenders.Seafood is commonly consumed across Indonesia, but it is especially popular in Maluku islands, Gorontalo Peninsula and Minahasa ( North Sulawesi) cuisine. Seafood is usually grilled, boiled or fried. Ikan bakar is a popular grilled fish dish that can be found throughout Indonesia. The method of cooking like stir fried in spices or in soup is also possible. Salted fish is preserved seafood through cured in salt, it also can be found in Indonesian market. Terungkap, Asal Mula Menu Lalapan | Dream.co.id". Dream.co.id (in Indonesian) . Retrieved 23 December 2017. Some Indonesian fruit and vegetable dishes such as fruit rujak, gado-gado, karedok, pecel, lalab, capcay, tofu and tempeh are foods with low fat and high fibre. Tempeh, for example, is a vegetarian substitute for meat. [71] Some dishes, especially gorengan (deep-fried fritters) and those dishes infused or caramelised with coconut milk, such as rendang and gulai, might taste succulent but are rich in saturated fat. a b c d e Yudi Anugrah Nugroho (18 December 2013). "Cita Rasa Kuliner Nusantara". Historia (in Indonesian).