Indonesian cuisine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: List of Indonesian dishes
Throughout its history, Indonesia has been involved in trade due to its location and natural resources. Additionally, Indonesia’s indigenous techniques and ingredients were influenced by India, the Middle East, China, and finally Europe. Spanish and Portuguese traders brought New World produce even before the Dutch came to colonize most of the archipelago. The Indonesian islands The Moluccas (Maluku), which are famed as "the Spice Islands", also contributed to the introduction of native spices, such as cloves and nutmeg, to Indonesian and global cuisine.
Some popular Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng,[4] gado-gado,[5][6] sate,[7] and soto[8] are ubiquitous in the country and considered as Indonesian national dishes.
Sumatran cuisine, for example, often has Middle Eastern and Indian influences, featuring curried meat and vegetables such as gulai and kari, while Javanese cuisine is more indigenous.[1] The cuisines of Eastern Indonesia are similar to Polynesian and Melanesian cuisine. Elements of Chinese cuisine can be seen in Indonesian cuisine: items such as bakmi (noodles), bakso (meat or fish balls), and lumpia (spring rolls) have been completely assimilated.
Some popular dishes that originated in Indonesia are now common across much of Southeast Asia. Indonesian dishes such as satay, beef rendang, and sambal are also favoured in Malaysia and Singapore. Soy-based dishes, such as variations of tofu (tahu) and tempe, are also very popular. Tempe is regarded as a Javanese invention, a local adaptation of soy-based food fermentation and production. Another fermented food is oncom, similar in some ways to tempe but using a variety of bases (not only soy), created by different fungi, and particularly popular in West Java.
Indonesian meals are commonly eaten with the combination of a spoon in the right hand and fork in the left hand (to push the food onto the spoon), although in many parts of the country, such as West Java and West Sumatra, it is also common to eat with one's hands. In restaurants or households that commonly use bare hands to eat, like in seafood foodstalls, traditional Sundanese and Minangkabau restaurants, or East Javanese pecel lele (fried catfish with sambal) and ayam goreng (fried chicken) food stalls, they usually serve kobokan, a bowl of tap water with a slice of lime in it to give a fresh scent. This bowl of water should not to be consumed, however; it is used to wash one's hand before and after eating. Eating with chopsticks is generally only found in food stalls or restaurants serving Indonesian adaptations of Chinese cuisine, such as bakmie or mie ayam (chicken noodle) with pangsit (wonton), mie goreng (fried noodles), and kwetiau goreng (fried flat rice noodles).
Rice
Main article: Rice production in Indonesia
Rice is most often eaten as plain rice with just a few protein and vegetable dishes as side dishes. It is also served, however, as nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk), nasi kuning (rice cooked with coconut milk and turmeric), ketupat (rice steamed in woven packets of coconut fronds), lontong (rice steamed in banana leaves), intip or rengginang (rice crackers), desserts, vermicelli, noodles, arak beras (rice wine), and nasi goreng (fried rice).[10] Nasi goreng is omnipresent in Indonesia and considered as national dish.[4]
Rice was only incorporated into diets, however, as either the technology to grow it or the ability to buy it from elsewhere was gained. Evidence of wild rice on the island of Sulawesi dates from 3000 BCE. Evidence for the earliest cultivation, however, comes from eighth century stone inscriptions from the central island of Java, which show kings levied taxes in rice. The images of rice cultivation, rice barn, and mouse pest investing a ricefield is evident in Karmawibhanga bas-reliefs of Borobudur. Divisions of labour between men, women, and animals that are still in place in Indonesian rice cultivation, were carved into relief friezes on the ninth century Prambanan temples in Central Java: a water buffalo attached to a plough; women planting seedlings and pounding grain; and a man carrying sheaves of rice on each end of a pole across his shoulders (pikulan). In the sixteenth century, Europeans visiting the Indonesian islands saw rice as a new prestige food served to the aristocracy during ceremonies and feasts.[9]
Rice production in Indonesian history is linked to the development of iron tools and the domestication of Wild Asian Water Buffalo as water buffalo for cultivation of fields and manure for fertilizer. Rice production requires exposure to the sun. Once covered in dense forest, much of the Indonesian landscape has been gradually cleared for permanent fields and settlements as rice cultivation developed over the last fifteen hundred years.[9]
Other staples
Many types of tubers such as talas (a type of taro but larger and more bland) and breadfruit are native to Indonesia, while others are introduced from elsewhere. Wheat, the base ingredient for bread and noodles were probably introduced from India or China; yam was introduced from Africa; while maize, potato, sweet potato, cassava and maize were introduced from Americas through Spanish influence and finally reached Java in 17th century. Cassava is usually boiled, steamed, fried or processed as popular snack kripik singkong (cassava crackers). Dried cassava, locally known as tiwul, is an alternate staple food in arid areas of Java such as Gunung Kidul and Wonogiri, while other roots and tubers are eaten especially in hard times. Maize is eaten in drier regions such as Madura and islands east of the Wallace Line, such as the Lesser Sunda Islands.
Vegetables
Vegetables like kecipir (winged bean), tomato, mentimun (cucumber) and the small variety of peria (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 meat 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.
Meat and fish
The meat can be cooked in rich spices and coconut milk such as beef, goat or lamb rendang, skewered, seasoned and grilled chicken or mutton as satay, barbecued meats, or sliced and cooked in rich broth soup as soto. Muttons and various offals can be use as ingredients for soto soup or gulai curry. In Bali, with its Hindu majority, the babi guling pig roast is popular among local as well as non-Muslim visitors, while the Batak people of North Sumatra have babi panggang that is a similar dish. The meat also can be processed to be thinly sliced and dried as dendeng (jerky), or made into abon (meat floss). Dendeng celeng is Indonesian "dried, jerked" boar meat.[11]
As an archipelagic nation, seafood is abundant and commonly consumed especially by Indonesian resides in coastal areas. Popular seafoods in Indonesian cuisine among others; mackerel, tuna, wahoo, milkfish, red snapper, anchovy, cuttlefish, shrimp, crab and mussel. Seafood is commonly consumed across Indonesia, but it is especially popular in Maluku islands and Minahasa (North Sulawesi) cuisine. Seafood are usually being bakar (grilled), rebus (boiled) or goreng (fried). However another method of cooking like stir fried in spices or in soup is also possible. Ikan asin (salted fish) is preserved seafood through cured in salt, it is also can be found in Indonesian market. Fresh water fisheries can be found in inland region or area with large rivers or lakes. Popular fresh water fish among others; carp, gourami, snakehead, tilapia, catfish and pangasius.
Spices and other flavorings
In ancient times, the kingdom of Sunda and the later sultanate of Banten were well known as the world's major producers of black pepper. The maritime empires of Srivijaya and Majapahit also benefited from the lucrative spice trade between the spice islands with China and India. Later the Dutch East India Company controlled the spice trade between Indonesia and the world. The Indonesian fondness for hot and spicy food was enriched when the Spanish introduced cabai chili pepper from the New World to the region in 16th century. After that hot and spicy sambals have become an important part of Indonesian cuisine.[13] Sambal evolved into many variants across Indonesia, ones of the most popular is sambal terasi (sambal belacan) and sambal mangga muda (young mango sambal). Dabu-dabu is North Sulawesi style of sambal with chopped fresh tomato, chili, and lime juice. Traditionally prepared laboriously ground upon stone mortar, today sambals is also available as industrial processed products in bottles or jars.
Soy sauce is also an important flavorings 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.
Peanut sauce
Bumbu kacang or peanut sauce represents a sophisticated, earthy seasoning rather than a sweet, gloppy sauce.[14] It should have a delicate balance of savoury, sweet, sour, and spicy flavours, acquired from various ingredients, such as fried peanuts, gula jawa (coconut sugar), garlic, shallots, ginger, tamarind, lemon juice, lemongrass, salt, chilli, peppercorns, sweet soy sauce, ground together and mixed with water to form the right consistency. The secret to good peanut sauce is “not too thick and not too watery.” Indonesian peanut sauce tends to be less sweet than the Thai version, which is a hybrid adaptation. Gado-gado is a popular dish particularly associated with bumbu kacang, and is eaten across Indonesia.
Coconut milk
The use of coconut milk is not exclusive to Indonesian cuisine. It can also be found in Indian, Samoan, Thai, Malaysian, Filipino, and Brazilian cuisines. Nonetheless, the use of coconut milk is quite extensive in Indonesia, especially in Minangkabau cuisine, although in Minahasan (North Sulawesi) cuisine, coconut milk is generally absent, except in Minahasan cakes and desserts such as klappertart.
In Indonesian cuisine, two types of coconut milk are found, thin coconut milk and thick coconut milk. The difference depends on the water and oil content. Thin coconut milk is usually used for soups such as sayur lodeh and soto, while the thicker variety is used for rendang and desserts. It can be made from freshly shredded coconut meat in traditional markets, or can be found processed in cartons at the supermarket.
After the milk has been extracted from the shredded coconut flesh to make coconut milk, the ampas kelapa (leftover coconut flesh) can still be used in urap, seasoned and spiced shredded coconut meat mixed together with vegetables. Leftover shredded coconut can also be cooked, sauteed and seasoned to make serundeng, almost powdery sweet and spicy finely shredded coconut. Kerisik paste, added to thicken rendang, is another use of coconut flesh. To acquire a rich taste, some households insist on using freshly shredded coconut, instead of leftover, for urap and serundeng. Serundeng can be mixed with meat in dishes such as serundeng daging (beef serundeng) or sprinkled on top of other dishes such as soto or ketan (sticky rice). An example of the heavy use of coconut is Buras from Makassar, rice wrapped in banana leaf cooked with coconut milk and sprinkled with powdered coconut similar to serundeng.
Regional dishes
- West Java
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
- Madura
- Bali
- North Sumatra
- West Sumatra
Main article: Minangkabau cuisine
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
- North Sulawesi
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
- Nusa Tenggara
- Maluku and Papua
Foreign influences
- Indian influenced
- Chinese influenced
Main article: Chinese Indonesian cuisine
Chinese immigration to Indonesia
started in the 7th century, perhaps even earlier. This migration
accelerated during colonial times, thus creating the fusion of Chinese
cuisine with indigenous Indonesian style. Similar Chinese-native fusion
cuisine phenomena is also observable in neighboring Malaysia and
Singapore as peranakan cuisine. Some popular Indonesian dishes trace its origin to Chinese influences such as; bakmi, bakso, bakpau, mi goreng, tahu goreng, siomay, lumpia, nasi tim, cap cai, fu yung hai and swikee.- Dutch influenced
Conversely, the Indonesian cuisine also had influenced colonial Dutch and Indo people that brought Indonesian dishes back to the Netherlands due to repatriation following the independence of Indonesia. Rijsttafel invented during colonial era are the example of Indonesian feast that still popular in the Netherlands and its colonies.
Meal Times
In eastern Indonesia, such as on the islands of Papua and Timor, where the climate is often much drier, the meals can be centered around other sources of carbohydrates such as sago and/or root vegetables and starchy tubers. Being east of the Wallace line, the ecozone, and hence the flora and fauna, are quite different from those of the islands to the west, and so the food stuffs are, as well.
Feasts: Tumpeng and Rijsttafel
Another Indonesian feast, the Rijsttafel (from Dutch, meaning 'rice table'), demonstrates both colonial opulence and the diversity of Indonesian cuisine at the same time. The classic style rijsttafel involved serving of up to 40 different dishes by 40 male waiters, bare foot but dressed in formal white uniforms with blangkon (traditional Javanese caps) on their heads and batik cloth around their waists. In contemporary Indonesian cuisine, it has been adapted into a western style buffet. It employs a long table with a wide range of dishes, both savory and sweet, served on it. It can usually be found in wedding ceremonies or any other festivities. The layout for an Indonesian wedding ceremony buffet is usually: plates, eating utensils (spoon and fork), and paper napkins placed on one end, followed by rice (plain or fried), a series of Indonesian (and sometimes international) dishes, sambal and krupuk (shrimp crackers), and ending with glasses of water on the other end of the table.
Beverages
Many popular drinks are based on ice (es) and can also be classified as desserts. Typical examples include young coconut (es kelapa muda), grass jelly (es cincau), cendol (es cendol or es dawet), avocado, jackfruit and coconut with shreded ice and condensed milk (es teler), mixed ice (es campur), red kidney beans (es kacang merah), musk melon (es blewah) and seaweed (es rumput laut).
Hot sweet beverages can also be found, such as bajigur and bandrek which are particularly popular in West Java. Both are coconut milk or coconut sugar (gula jawa) based hot drinks, mixed with other spices. Sekoteng, a ginger based hot drink which includes peanuts, diced bread, and pacar cina, can be found in Jakarta and West Java. Wedang jahe (hot ginger drink) and wedang ronde (a hot drink with sweet potato balls) are particularly popular in Yogyakarta, Central Java, and East Java.
As a Muslim majority country, Indonesian Muslims also share Islamic dietary laws that prohibit alcoholic beverages. However since ancient times, native alcoholic beverages were already developed in archipelago. According to a Chinese source, people of ancient Java drank wine made from palm sap called tuak (palm wine). Today tuak continues to be popular in the Batak region, North Sumatra where a majority of the people are Christian. A traditional Batak bar serving tuak is called lapo tuak. In Solo, Central Java, ciu (a local adaptation of Chinese wine) is also known. Bottled brem bali (Balinese rice wine) is popular in Bali. Indonesians also developed local brands of beer, such as Bintang Beer and Anker Beer.
Snacks and street food
Indonesian street snacks also include iced and sweet beverages, such as es cendol or es dawet, es teler, es cincau, es doger, es campur, es potong, and es puter. Indonesian cakes and cookies are often called as jajanan pasar (market munchies). Indonesia has a rich collection of snacks called kue (cakes and pastry), both savory and sweet. Popular ones include risoles, pastel, lumpia, lemper, lontong, tahu isi, getuk, bakpia, Bika Ambon, kue pandan, lupis, lemang, kue pisang, kue cubit, klepon, onde-onde, nagasari, lapis legit, soes, poffertjes and bolu kukus.
Street and street-side vendors are common, in addition to hawkers peddling their goods on bicycles or carts. These carts are known as pedagang kaki lima - (named after the 5-foot (1.5 m) wide footpaths in Indonesia, however some people say they are named 'five feet' after the three feet of the cart and two feet of the vendor!). These food hawkers on cart or bicycle might be travelling on streets; approaching potential buyers through residential areas while announcing their presence, or stationed themselves on a strategic and busy street side; setting simple seatings under small tent, and waiting for customers to come. Many of these have their own distinctive call or songs to announce their wares. For example, the bakso seller will hit the side of a soup bowl, whereas mie ayam is announced by hitting a wood block.
Fruits
Many of these fruits such as mangosteen, rambutan, jackfruit, durian, and banana, are indigenous to Indonesian archipelago; while others have been imported from other tropical countries, although the origin of many of these fruits might be disputed. Today, Indonesian markets is also enrichen with selections of home-grown non-tropical fruits that is not native to Indonesia. Strawberry, melon, apple and dragonfruit are introduced and grown in cooler Indonesian highlands such as Malang and Lembang near Bandung, to mimic their native subtropics habitat.
In the last few years, fruit chips have been more and more various. In the old times, banana and jackfruit chips were the most common, but now Indonesian fruit chips are also made from strawberry, apple, dragonfruit, pepino, watermelon, melon, more. Malang, a city in East Java, is the center of fruit chip production aside from tempeh chips. Banana and Coconut are particularly important, not only to Indonesian cuisine, but also in other uses, such as timber, bedding, roofing, oil, plates and packaging, etc.
Health and hygiene
Much carbohydrate intake in Indonesian cuisine comes from rice, while in eastern parts of Indonesia, yam and sago are common. Indonesian protein intake comes from bean soy products that are processed into tofu and tempeh. chicken eggs, poultry and meats are also consumed. Most of the fat intake comes from cooking oil (coconut oil) of fried dishes, coconut milk, peanuts, as well as meats and offals. Some Indonesian fruit and vegetable dishes such as fruit rujak, gado-gado, karedok, pecel, lalab, capcay, tofu and tempeh are known as healthy foods with low fat and high fiber. Tempeh, for example, is known to be a vegetarian substitute for meat. On the other hand some dishes, especially gorengan (deep-fried fritters) and those dishes infused or caramelized with coconut milk, such as rendang and gulai, might taste succulent but are rich in fat and cholesterol. The goat meat and offals cooked as gulai and soto are definitely categorized as unhealthy dietary choices as they are rich in saturated fat and cholesterol.The authentic traditional Indonesian home cooking is freshly made and consumed daily with minimal or no processed, canned or preserved foods, which means there are minimal amount of preservatives. Most ingredients are bought fresh early in the morning from local traditional markets, cooked around late morning and consumed mainly for lunch. The leftovers are stored in the cupboard in room temperature to be heated and consumed again for dinner. Traditionally, Indonesian dishes are rarely stored for long periods of time, thus most of these dishes are cooked and consumed in the same day. Some exceptions apply to dried, salted, and processed food. For example, dry rendang may still be safe to consume for several days. Today refrigeration technology is available in most households.
While most 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, especially among foreigners during their stay in Indonesia. It is advisable to drink bottled or boiled drinking water, or choose cooked hot food instead of uncooked room temperatured one sold by street vendors. For example, when consuming food sold by street vendors, consuming hot cooked mi ayam or soto is much safer than having gado-gado or fruit rujak.
See also
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References
- ^ a b c d "Indonesian Cuisine." Epicurina.com. Accessed July 2011.
- ^ a b "Indonesian food." Belindo.com. Accessed July 2011.
- ^ "Indonesian Cuisine". Diner's Digest. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- ^ a b "Nasi Goreng: Indonesia's mouthwatering national dish". Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ Gado-Gado | Gado-Gado Recipe | Online Indonesian Food and Recipes at IndonesiaEats.com
- ^ a b "National Dish of Indonesia Gado Gado". Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ a b "Indonesian food recipes: Satay". Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ a b "A Soto Crawl". Eating Asia. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Jean Gelman (2003). Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-300-10518-5.
- ^ Witton, Patrick (2002). World Food: Indonesia. Melbourne: Lonely Planet. p. 29. ISBN 1-74059-009-0.
- ^ Scott, Janny (2011-04-20). "Obama's Young Mother Abroad". The New York Times.
- ^ "Curries and Bumbus". Verstegen. 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ Elliott, Petty (2011). "Food Talk: Spice Up Your Prawns With Sambal". Jakarta Globe, Indonesian Embassy in Athens. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ James Oseland, Cradle Of Flavor (W.W. Norton & Co., 2006)
- ^ Sate Klopo | Sate Klopo Recipe | Online Indonesian Food and Recipes at IndonesiaEats.com
- ^ Sate Ayam Madura | Sate Ayam Madura Recipe | Online Indonesian Food and Recipes at IndonesiaEats.com
- ^ Bali: A Day At The Market And Cooking Class
- ^ "Most Expensive Coffee". Forbes.com. 20. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
- ^ "The Sinar Sosro Group: The Market Leader for Traditional Drinks". The Free Library. 1999. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
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