Indonesian Food: Everything you need to know

Although people may be more familiar with Chinese, Japanese, or Thai food, that doesn't make Indonesian cuisine any less remarkable. The food is unique to each region and boasts a variety of exotic flavors. Coconut milk is a common and delicious ingredient, as is sambal' (a spicy chili sauce) or cabe rawit (bird's-eye chili pepper). And, of course, many dishes are served with rice.

Ayam penyet, literal means flattened chicken is indeed flattened chicken marinated in spices, fried, and eaten with steamed rice, sambal, and vegetables.

Bakso, an Indonesian street food, is a beef, chicken, fish, or combo meatball soup generally accompanied by noodles, tofu, chili, crispy fried onion pieces, and sweet soy sauce.

Cap Cai, a Chinese inspired Indonesian food, is made with any number of ingredients like cauliflower, cabbages, carrots, meatballs, chicken or shrimp, garlic, onions, chili peppers, and mushrooms and is fried up with soy sauce.

Empal is fried beef steak seasoned with coriander, onion, garlic, tamarind, palm sugar, and bay leaves. Bacem is the vegetarian alternative to empal, make of soybean. Both are popular when it comes to classic Indonesian food.

Nasi goreng is a simple and wholesome Indonesian food made of steamed rice fried together with chilli, shrimp paste, onions, garlic, and soy sauce, as well as meat, vegetables, mushrooms, fried or scrambled eggs, and/or slices of cucumber.

One style of easting Indonesian food, originating from Sumatra, is nasi padang is an early morning buffet with a plethora of local dishes.

Nasi uduk, an Indonesian food crafted from rice boiled in coconut milk and mixed with coriander, salt, and salam leaves is scented with lemongrass and served with fried or grilled chicken, empal, or bacem.

The Indonesian food Otak otak, made of minced fish meat, lemongrass, kadok leaves, ginger, lime leaves, turmeric, eggs, coconut milk, and seasoning is cooked by wrapping it in banana leaves and steaming or grilling it over an open fire.

Rendag, a delicious Indonesian food, is a spicy West Sumatran specialty, made of chicken or beef cooked in coconut milk and spices, is served with rice and is a popular example of Indonesian food.

Soto (an excellent example of Indonesian food) is a mild soup created with herbs, coconut milk, and pieces of organs or meat and is generally enjoyed with nasi himpit, cubes of compressed rice.

Tempe is fermented soybean cake used in a number other dishes in Indonesian food. High in vitamins and rich in protein, it's often used as a substitution for meat.

Now that you know all about Indonesian food, check out the best restaurants in Jakarta.