Kuliner Indonesia

HOME :: Food-and-Drink Indonesian Foods Are the Spice of Life
By Chuck R Stewart




When you want Indonesian food, and there is not an Asian market nearby or if there is not an Asian market around at all, you have two choices. You can accept that you will never be able to walk around a grocery that has the kinds of foods you love, or you can do what so many other people are doing these days - shopping for Indonesian food online. There are many places where convenience meets technology, and online Indonesian food businesses were made for just such a situation as this by their owners with the same frustrations. No gas, no driving for miles just to satisfy your craving for food from your homeland or just for a more exotic taste during your week. These stores also offer some of the lowest prices in North America as well as some of the most recognized Indonesian food brands.

Like most large countries, there is no one kind of Indonesian cuisine, but Indonesian food has some generalities that make its many kinds of Indonesian foods unique, whether the Indonesian food is a play off other countries' foods or whether the dishes are native to various Indonesian regions. Some Indonesian dishes are influenced by Chinese cuisine (and vice versa), but others, such as the Padang food in Sumatra, show some Middle Eastern and Indian influence. Indonesian food is commonly eaten with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left, although in parts of the country, Indonesian food is just eaten with one's hands, as utensils are not easily procured.




Like many Asian cultures, rice is the foundation of every meal. It can be eaten in a soup or with vegetables and meat. Rice can also be steamed in coconut fronds, which is called ketaput, or made into crackers, desserts, or even wines. Fried rice, called nasi goring, is one of the most popular Indonesian food dishes, although meat on a skewer served with peanut sauce (sate or satay), bean sprouts and vegetables with peanut sauce, and various kinds of seafood are also quite popular Indonesian foods. Indonesia has a gold mine of native tropical fruits that are enjoyed for their richness all over the world, including custard apples, guavas, rambutan, mangoes, starfruits, and papayas. In the Sumatra regions, they often provide curried meats and vegetables like gulai, which is an Indonesian curry with a characteristic yellow color from the spice turmeric and coconut milk. The Chinese influence on Indonesian food is seen in the prevalence of rice, noodles, and meatballs. Some Indonesian foods, however, are unique to the region, like tempe, which has become popular worldwide. Tempe comes from Java; its origin was a result of deforestation as protein became harder to come by, and the tempe provided an adequate alternative.

Vendors are a regular sight in Indonesia, and they often sell Chinese-inspired Indonesian foods like buns and noodles. Pork used to be sold, too, but with the rise of Islam in Indonesia, it is not used as often in traditional dishes.

Kuliner Indonesia

HOME :: Food-and-Drink Best Indonesian Foods - Find Great Asian Foods
By Bryan Burbank




Asian food is very popular all over the world but it is important to understand that there are many regions and different types of this food. You may associate Chinese food with all Asian foods and this does not do it justice because there are many varieties and flavors from different regions. You can choose from Japanese, Chines, Korean and Indonesian to name a few. If you are adventurous then you will find that many of these foods you will enjoy. You need to also be aware that in many cities in the U.S. the Asian food is made for this country so the taste will be a little different than if you ate from that particular country.
It is a good idea that you try foods that you do not normally eat and Asian foods can be a great thing to try if you have never had it. Usually this type of food is very healthy because they use fresh vegetables and meats to prepare there dishes. It is a good idea that before you try one of these new cuisines that you check some of the reviews online and make sure you find a restaurant that people like. This will help to make your experience a memorable one.


Remember that Asian food is a variety of cuisine from all around Asia and it is more than just Chinese food. It is good to try new things and this type of food has very interesting spices and flavors. You should always check online with some of the review sites to make sure that the restaurant you choose has a good rating. You can also find out what people have ordered and liked so when you go to that restaurant you know what is good to try.

Kuliner Indonesia

Indonesian Food - An Introduction
By Tatie Sri Wulandari




Have you ever tried some tasty Indonesian food? Or maybe ever heard of it? Not like Chinese or Italian food which already well-known all around the world, Indonesian food is probably not so popular.

Indonesian culinary art was influenced by different nations such as Chinese, Arab, Portuguese, Spanish, English and Dutch that came to do the trading on these islands long time ago. The beauty and the richness of spices made the Dutch occupy the country for 350 years. They affectionately called Indonesia gordel van smaragden (The Belt of Emeralds). During their occupation, they planted tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, green beans and lettuce in the highlands where they flourished in near-Dutch weather condition. While the Indians traders brought cucumbers, eggplants and onions in the land, the Spanish and Portuguese brought chilly peppers from America.

It is the Chinese who have had the greatest influence on the food in Indonesia. They introduced noodles, soy sauce, which the Indonesians modified to suit their taste by adding sugar (kecap manis); mung peas used to make bean sprouts; beancurd (tahu) and Soya beans, which the Indonesians learned how to ferment to make the excellent and nutrious Tempe.

The "typical" Indonesian meal is being based on rice, with several savoury side dishes of vegetables, fish, meat or poultry, accompanied by a hot chilly condiment known as sambal, with crackers (krupuk) or fried shallot to provide a crunchy contrast. Probably the most well known of Indonesian dishes are Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam), Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng) and Fried Noodle (Mie Goreng). Eventhough there are many others since the country so big with different kind of ethnic groups.

Eating Indonesian food can be an interesting experience. The diversity of the country will bring you to taste variety of foods. Each of Indonesia's ethnic groups uses the country's entire rich array of the spices, but each has its own combinations and tastes: spicy, sweet, hot and sour. But the real magic in Indonesian cuisine is in the use of aromatic seasonings: fresh red shallots, fresh garlic, fresh rhizomes such as ginger, turmeric, galangal (lengkuas or laos) and other type if galangals such as kencur and temu kunci. There are also fresh leaf seasonings like lemon grass, lemon basil (known as kemangi), kaffir lime, daun salam ( a type of bay leaf), turmeric, Chinese celery and pandan leaf. Although the country is a major producer of spices like nutmeg and cloves, these spices are rarely used in Indonesian's cooking. For sweet taste, they usually add coconut milk, sweet soy sauce or palm/coconut sugar. While the sourness comes from tamarind water, lime juice and sometimes vinegar.

Travelling around Indonesia can prove to be a real challenge for your cuisine curiosity. Indonesia has it all ... from sweet to very spicy food. It is impossible to describe every specialty here since are too many of them. As the world's largest archipelago, Indonesia is a heaven of good food that will awake all of your senses.