Sunday 16 October 2011

Indonesian Cuisine

Indonesian cuisine

Indonesian cuisine
Indonesian cuisine is diverse, in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 of the total 18,000 inhabited island in the world's largest archipelago. Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon cultural and foreign influences. Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different influences.
Indonesian cuisineThroughout 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 , 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
goreng, gado-gado, sate, and
country and considered as
Indonesian dishes such as nasi
soto are ubiquitous in the
Indonesian national dishes.
Some popular dishes
Indonesia are now common across
Indonesian dishes such as satay,
also favoured in Malaysia
dishes, such as variations of
popular. Tempe is regarded as a
adaptation of soy-based food
Another fermented food is
tempe but using a variety of
by different fungi, and
that originated in
much of Southeast Asia.
beef rendang, and sambal are
and Singapore. Soy-based
tofu and tempe, are also very
Javanese invention, a local
fermentation and production.
oncom, similar in some ways to
bases (not only soy), created
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 , 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 is a staple for all
Indonesia, and it holds the central
it shapes the landscape;
served in most meals both as a
importance of rice in Indonesian
through the reverence of Dewi
ancient Java and Bali.
cycles linked to rice
through rituals, such as Seren
classes in contemporary
place in Indonesian culture:
is sold at markets; and is
savoury and a sweet food. The
culture is demonstrated
Sri, the rice goddess of
Traditionally the agricultural
cultivations were celebrated
Taun rice harvest festival.
Rice is most often eaten
few protein and vegetable
also served, however, as
cooked with coconut milk and
in woven packets of
steamed in banana leaves),
crackers), desserts, vermicelli,
and nasi goreng (fried
omnipresent in Indonesia and
as plain rice with just a
dishes as side dishes. It is
nasi uduk , nasi kuning (rice
turmeric), ketupat (rice steamed
coconut fronds), lontong (rice
intip or rengginang (rice
noodles, arak beras (rice wine),
rice). Nasi goreng is
considered as national dish.
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 . In the sixteenth century, Europeans visiting the Indonesian islands saw rice as a new prestige food served to the aristocracy during ceremonies and feasts.
Rice production in
development of iron tools and the
Buffalo as water buffalo for
fertilizer. Rice production
Once covered in dense
landscape has been gradually
and settlements as rice
fifteen hundred years.
Indonesian history is linked to the
domestication of Wild Asian Water
cultivation of fields and manure for
requires exposure to the sun.
forest, much of the Indonesian
cleared for permanent fields
cultivation developed over the last
-
Other staple foods in
starchy tubers such as; yam,
and cassava; also starchy
jackfruit and grains such as maize
called Papeda is a staple food
Sago is also often mixed with
pancake. Next to sago, people of
various kind of wild tubers as
Indonesia include a number of
sweet potato, potato, taro
fruit such as breadfruit and
and wheat. A sago congee
especially in Maluku and Papua.
water and cooked as a simple
eastern Indonesia also consume
staple food.
Many types of tubers such as talas 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.
A number of leaf vegetables are widely used in Indonesian cuisine, such as kangkung, spinach, genjer, melinjo, papaya and cassava leaves. These are often sauteed with garlic. Spinach and corn are used in simple clear watery vegetable soup sayur bayam bening flavoured with temu kunci, garlic and shallot. Other vegetables like labu air , labu siam (chayote), kelor, kacang panjang (yardlong bean), terung (eggplant), gambas and belustru, are cut and used in stir fries, curries and soups like sayur asem, sayur lodeh or laksa. Sayur sop is cabbage, cauliflower, potato, carrot, with macaroni spiced with black pepper, garlic and shallot in chicken or beef broth. The similar mixed vegetables are also stir fried as cap cai, a popular dish of the Chinese Indonesian cuisine.
Vegetables like
(cucumber) and the small variety of
commonly eaten raw, like in
variety is usually boiled.
are a common Indonesian
spiced shredded coconut meat
vegetables, asinan betawi are
and pecel are a salad of
peanut-based spicy sauce, while
kecipir , tomato, mentimun
peria (bitter melon) are
lalab. The large bitter melon
kecombrang and papaya flower buds
vegetable. Urap is seasoned and
mixed together with
preserved vegetables. Gado-gado
boiled vegetables dressed in a
karedok is its raw version.
The main meat source diet mostly are poultry and fish, however meats such as beef, water buffalo, goat and mutton are commonly found in Indonesian marketplaces. The most common poultry consumed is chicken and duck, however to a lesser amount, pigeon and wild migrating sea bird are also consumed. As a country with an Islamic majority, Indonesian Muslims follows the Islamic halal dietary law which forbids the consumption of pork. However in other parts of Indonesia where there are significant numbers of non-Muslims, boar and pork are commonly consumed. Dishes made of non-halal meats can be found in provinces such as Bali, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, West Papua, Papua, and also in Chinatowns in major Indonesian cities. Today to cater for the larger Muslim market, most of the restaurants and eating establishments in Indonesia put halal signs that signify they neither serve pork nor use lard in their cooking.
The meat can be cooked in
such as beef, goat or lamb
grilled chicken or mutton as
sliced and cooked in rich broth
various offals can be use as
curry. In Bali, with its Hindu
popular among locals as well as
Batak people of North Sumatra
similar dish. The meat also can
thinly-sliced and dried as dendeng
floss). Dendeng celeng is
meat.
rich spices and coconut milk
rendang, skewered, seasoned and
satay, barbecued meats, or
soup as soto. Muttons and
ingredients for soto soup or gulai
majority, the babi guling is
non-Muslim visitors, while the
have babi panggang that is a
be processed to be
(jerky), or made into abon (meat
Indonesian "dried, jerked" boar
-
As an archipelagic nation, seafood is abundant and commonly consumed especially by Indonesian resides in coastal areas. Popular seafood 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 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.
Rempah" is Indonesian word for spice, while "bumbu" is the Indonesian word for spices mixture or seasoning, and it commonly appears in the names of certain spice mixtures, sauces and seasoning pastes. Known throughout the world as the "Spice Islands", the Indonesian islands of Maluku contributed to the introduction of its native spices to world cuisine. Spices such as pala , cengkeh (clove), and laos (galangal) are native to Indonesia. It is likely that lada hitam (black pepper), kunyit (turmeric), sereh (lemongrass), bawang merah (shallot), kayu manis (cinnamon), kemiri (candlenut), ketumbar (coriander), and asam jawa (tamarind) were introduced from India, while jahe (ginger), daun bawang (scallions) and bawang putih (garlic) were introduced from China. Those spices from mainland Asia were introduced early, in ancient times, thus they became integral ingredients in Indonesian cuisine.
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. Sambal evolved into many variants across Indonesia, ones of the most popular is sambal terasi 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
Indonesian cuisine. Kecap asin was
however Indonesian developed
soy sauce) with generous
sauce. Sweet soy sauce is an
meat and fish, such as satay
soy sauce is also an
Indonesian stew.
important flavorings in
adopted from Chinese cuisine,
their own kecap manis (sweet
addition of palm sugar into soy
important marinade for barbecued
and grilled fishes. Sweet
important ingredient for semur,
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One of the main characteristics of Indonesian cuisine is the wide application of peanuts in many Indonesian signature dishes, such as satay, gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, and pecel. Gado-gado and Sate for example have been considered as Indonesian national dishes. Introduced from Mexico by Portuguese and Spanish merchants in 16th century, peanuts assumed a place within Indonesian cuisine as a key ingredient. Peanuts thrived in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia, and today they can be found, roasted and chopped finely, in many recipes. Whole, halved, or crushed peanuts are used to garnish a variety of dishes, and used in marinades and dipping sauces such as sambal kacang for otak-otak or ketan. Peanut oil, extracted from peanuts, is one of the most commonly used cooking oils in Indonesia.
Bumbu kacang or peanut sauce represents a sophisticated, earthy seasoning rather than a sweet, gloppy sauce. It should have a delicate balance of savoury, sweet, sour, and spicy flavours, acquired from various ingredients, such as fried peanuts, gula jawa , 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.
The use of coconut milk
Indonesian cuisine. It can also be
Thai, Malaysian, Filipino,
Nonetheless, the use of coconut milk
Indonesia, especially in
Minahasan cuisine, coconut milk
except in Minahasan cakes and
isn't exclusive to
found in Indian, Samoan,
and Brazilian cuisines.
is quite extensive in
Minangkabau cuisine, although in
is generally absent,
desserts such as klappertart.
In Indonesian cuisine,
are found, thin coconut
The difference depends on
Thin coconut milk is usually
lodeh and soto, while the
rendang and desserts. It can be
coconut meat in traditional
processed in cartons at the
two types of coconut milk
milk and thick coconut milk.
the water and oil content.
used for soups such as sayur
thicker variety is used for
made from freshly shredded
markets, or can be found
supermarket.

Related Sites for Indonesian cuisine