Indonesia
50 recipes to explore
Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
Indonesia's national dish: day-old rice stir-fried with chicken, a chili-shallot paste and sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), topped with a fried egg and served with cucumber, tomato and crunchy crackers.
Mie Goreng (Fried Noodles)
Egg noodles stir-fried with shrimp, cabbage, carrot and greens in a sweet, salty and slightly spicy sauce of kecap manis, soy and chili. Topped with fried shallots and served with tomato wedges.
Nasi Kuning (Yellow Coconut Rice)
Fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk with turmeric, lemongrass and lime leaves until golden yellow. Served at celebrations with fried chicken, egg, cucumber and fried shallots.
Bubur Ayam (Chicken Rice Porridge)
A soft, savory rice porridge cooked in ginger chicken broth and topped with shredded chicken, soy sauce, fried shallots, spring onions, peanuts and crunchy crackers. Indonesia's favorite breakfast.
Soto Ayam (Turmeric Chicken Soup)
A bright yellow chicken soup flavored with turmeric, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves, poured over glass noodles, bean sprouts and boiled egg. Finished with lime, fried shallots and sambal.
Bakso (Beef Meatball Soup)
Springy, bouncy beef meatballs in a clear garlic broth with noodles, greens, celery leaves and fried shallots. Add sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a squeeze of lime at the table.
Beef Rendang
Beef cooked very slowly in coconut milk with a rich paste of chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal and lemongrass until the sauce cooks away and coats the meat in a dark, spicy, caramelized crust.
Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce)
Small pieces of chicken marinated in sweet soy sauce and garlic, threaded on skewers and grilled until sticky and charred. Served with a rich, sweet and spicy peanut sauce, sliced shallots and rice.
Gado-Gado (Vegetable Salad with Peanut Sauce)
A colorful plate of boiled potatoes, green beans, cabbage, bean sprouts, cucumber, fried tofu, tempeh and egg, all covered in a thick, sweet and spicy peanut sauce.
Perkedel (Potato Fritters)
Soft potato patties mixed with fried shallots, spring onion, celery leaves and a little nutmeg, dipped in egg and fried until golden. A favorite side for soto ayam and rice dishes.
Bakwan Jagung (Crispy Corn Fritters)
Sweet corn kernels held together with a light, savory batter of spring onion, garlic, shallot and celery leaves, fried in spoonfuls until crispy and golden. Great with chili sauce.
Pisang Goreng (Crispy Fried Bananas)
Ripe bananas dipped in a light rice flour batter and fried until crispy and golden outside, soft and sweet inside. Eat them warm with a drizzle of palm sugar syrup or honey.
Tempe Goreng (Garlic Coriander Fried Tempeh)
Slices of tempeh soaked in a quick garlic, coriander and turmeric brine, then fried until crunchy and golden. A simple, protein-packed side for rice, vegetables and sambal.
Cap Cay (Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry)
A colorful Chinese-Indonesian stir-fry of broccoli, carrot, cabbage, mushrooms and baby corn with chicken and shrimp in a light, glossy oyster sauce gravy. Serve with steamed rice.
Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Milk)
A gentle, golden vegetable stew of long beans, eggplant, zucchini, cabbage, corn, tofu and tempeh simmered in spiced coconut milk with lemongrass and galangal. Served with rice.
Ayam Goreng (Javanese Spiced Fried Chicken)
Chicken first simmered in a golden paste of turmeric, garlic, shallot, coriander and lemongrass until it soaks up all the flavor, then fried until the skin is crispy. Served with rice, cucumber and sambal.
Cah Kangkung (Stir-Fried Water Spinach)
Crunchy water spinach stir-fried in minutes with garlic, shallot, chili and a splash of oyster sauce. A fast, everyday green side dish to eat with rice.
Martabak Manis (Thick Sweet Pancake)
A thick, fluffy, honeycomb-like pancake cooked in a pan, spread with butter and filled with chocolate sprinkles, crushed peanuts, condensed milk and cheese, then folded in half. Indonesia's favorite night market sweet.
Es Teler (Avocado, Jackfruit and Coconut Ice)
A cold Indonesian dessert drink of creamy avocado, sweet jackfruit and soft young coconut over shaved ice, covered with coconut milk, syrup and condensed milk.
Wedang Jahe (Hot Ginger Drink)
A warming Javanese drink of fresh ginger, lemongrass and pandan simmered with palm sugar. Sweet, spicy and soothing on a cold, rainy evening or when you have a sore throat.
Soto Betawi (Jakarta Beef & Coconut Milk Soup)
Tender beef simmered in a fragrant broth of lemongrass and galangal, then enriched with coconut milk and milk until silky, with potatoes, tomatoes and a shower of fried shallots. This is Jakarta's most comforting bowl of soup.
Rawon (East Javanese Black Beef Soup)
A deep, almost black beef soup from East Java, coloured and flavoured by kluwek nuts and a fragrant paste of shallots, garlic and galangal. Served over rice with bean sprouts, salted egg and crunchy fried shallots.
Gudeg Yogyakarta (Slow-Braised Jackfruit)
Young jackfruit simmered for hours in coconut milk and palm sugar until it turns deep brown, soft and sweet-savory, served with chicken, egg and rice the way it's eaten on the streets of Yogyakarta.
Opor Ayam (Turmeric Coconut Chicken Curry)
Chicken pieces simmered low and slow in a fragrant turmeric-and-spice coconut milk, finished pale gold and silky. A festive, comforting curry that Indonesian families cook for Eid and family gatherings.
Sate Padang (West Sumatran Beef Skewers)
Tender beef, simmered in spiced broth then grilled over charcoal, drowned in a thick, golden turmeric-curry sauce. Nothing like peanut satay — this one is bold, earthy and a little fiery.
Pempek Palembang (Fish and Tapioca Cakes)
Springy, savoury fish and tapioca cakes from Palembang, fried until the outside is deep golden and crisp. Served warm with cucumber and a dark, tangy-sweet-spicy cuko sauce poured over the top.
Sop Konro (South Sulawesi Beef Short Rib Soup)
Beef short ribs simmered for hours until fork-tender in a deeply spiced, almost black broth scented with lemongrass, galangal and toasted coriander. A bowl of Makassar's most famous dish, best with rice and a squeeze of lime.
Ketoprak (Jakarta Peanut Noodle Salad)
A beloved Jakarta street snack of soft rice vermicelli, crisp-fried tofu and crunchy bean sprouts, all tossed in a thick, garlicky peanut sauce with a sweet-sour kick. Finished with crackers and fried shallots for crunch.
Pecel (Pecel Jawa)
A Javanese vegetable salad of lightly blanched greens, bean sprouts and cucumber, smothered in a fragrant, spicy peanut sauce scented with kencur root. Fresh, comforting and full of texture, finished with crisp fried shallots and crackers.
Tahu Gejrot (Cirebon Spiced Tofu)
Golden fried tofu cubes from the port city of Cirebon, torn into pieces and doused in a dark, glossy palm sugar sauce loaded with raw crushed shallot, garlic and fiery bird's eye chili. Sweet, sour, salty and hot all at once.
Aceh Spiced Noodles (Mie Aceh)
Thick yellow noodles stir-fried in a bold, curry-spiced gravy with tender beef and shrimp, cabbage and bean sprouts, finished with lime and crisp fried shallots. A legacy of Aceh's old trading port, where Indian spice and Chinese noodle met.
Klepon (Pandan Rice Balls with Molten Palm Sugar)
Soft, chewy balls of pandan-scented glutinous rice dough, each one hiding a pocket of melted palm sugar that bursts out on the first bite. Rolled in lightly salted steamed coconut, they're one of Indonesia's best-loved market snacks.
Bika Ambon (Medan Honeycomb Coconut Cake)
A golden, chewy cake from Medan riddled with tiny honeycomb holes, made by fermenting coconut milk and tapioca batter before baking under fierce top heat. Fragrant with pandan and gently sweet, it's one of Indonesia's most famous regional treats.
Sate Kambing (Goat Satay)
Cubes of goat meat marinated in sweet soy sauce, garlic and warm spices, threaded on skewers and grilled over charcoal until smoky and charred at the edges. Served with a glossy soy-shallot sambal and lime.
Gulai Kambing (Indonesian Goat Curry)
Tender goat meat simmered low and slow in a golden coconut curry built on turmeric, galangal, candlenuts and lemongrass. Rich, warming and deeply fragrant — the kind of curry worth the wait.
Tongseng Kambing (Spiced Goat Stew)
Tender goat simmered low and slow in a fragrant coconut broth with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime, then finished with cabbage, tomato and sweet soy sauce for that signature savory-sweet Javanese flavor.
Nasi Liwet (Solo Savory Coconut Rice)
Fragrant rice simmered in coconut milk and chicken broth, piled with tender shredded chicken, mild sweet chayote and egg, then finished with a pour of thick coconut cream. A gentle, comforting classic from Solo, Central Java.
Pecel Lele (Fried Catfish with Sambal)
Whole catfish marinated in turmeric and garlic, deep-fried until the skin turns deeply crisp, then served warung-style with a punchy pounded chili sambal and a pile of raw vegetables. Humble, loud with flavor, and endlessly craveable.
Ayam Penyet (Smashed Fried Chicken)
Chicken simmered in aromatic spices until deeply flavoured, then deep-fried until the skin is crackling and lightly smashed with a pestle so every fibre soaks up the blistering hot sambal. A warung classic from East Java.
Lumpia Semarang (Semarang Spring Rolls)
Crisp fried rolls packed with bamboo shoots, egg, shrimp and chicken, gently sweet and deeply savoury inside. Served warm with a glossy sweet garlic sauce, fresh cucumber and a little chilli.
Risoles Ragout (Creamy Ragout Spring Rolls)
Paper-thin crepes wrapped around a creamy, nutmeg-scented chicken and vegetable ragout, then coated in breadcrumbs and fried until deeply golden. A beloved Indonesian snack-box favourite, crisp outside and silky warm inside.
Tahu Isi (Stuffed Fried Tofu)
Pockets of tofu packed with lightly seasoned bean sprouts and carrot, dipped in a turmeric batter and fried to order until the crust turns golden and crackling. A beloved Indonesian street snack, best eaten hot with fresh chilies.
Lemper Ayam (Sticky Rice Chicken Rolls)
Glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, wrapped around a fragrant filling of spiced shredded chicken, then rolled in banana leaf and steamed until the leaf perfumes every bite. A classic Javanese snack, equally good warm or at room temperature.
Onde-onde (Sesame Mung Bean Balls)
Chewy glutinous rice balls with a crackly sesame crust, hiding a soft, sweet mung bean paste inside. A beloved Indonesian street snack, best eaten warm the day it's fried.
Kolak Pisang (Banana Coconut Compote)
Firm ripe bananas and sweet potato simmered gently in coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar and perfumed with pandan leaf. A warm, silky Indonesian dessert, best known as the dish that breaks the fast during Ramadan.
Bubur Kacang Hijau (Mung Bean Porridge)
Mung beans simmered until tender and sweetened with dark palm sugar, finished with coconut milk and a salted coconut sauce on top. A warm, comforting breakfast eaten all over Indonesia.
Serabi (Coconut Rice Pancakes)
Soft, lacy rice flour pancakes leavened just enough to bubble as they cook in a hot clay pan, fragrant with coconut milk and pandan. Served warm with a pool of dark palm sugar syrup, they are Java's favourite street breakfast.
Klappertaart (Manado Coconut Custard Cake)
A silky baked custard from North Sulawesi, thick with strips of tender young coconut and plump raisins, finished with a dusting of cinnamon and toasted nuts. Rich, fragrant with nutmeg, and best served slightly warm or chilled from the fridge.
Asinan Betawi (Jakarta Pickled Vegetable Salad)
A refreshing Jakarta street-food salad of lightly pickled cabbage, cucumber, bean sprouts and carrot with golden fried tofu, tossed in a tangy, spicy peanut and tamarind dressing with a whisper of shrimp paste.
Sambal Goreng Ati (Spicy Liver in Chili Coconut Sauce)
Tender beef liver and golden fried potatoes simmered in a bold, fragrant sambal of shallots, chilies, galangal and coconut milk. A rich, spicy side dish that's a must at Indonesian celebrations, especially Eid.