Indonesia, Not Just Islands

Indonesian food is what you should remember about Indonesia

Indonesia; what comes to your mind when you hear that? I bet the only things that comes to mind are islands, humidity, and the most popular island Bali. All these words are just the common things people associate Indonesia with. I on the other hand will now introduce you to a whole new world of Indonesia, the hidden gems of the country. This hidden world lies in the culinary world of Indonesia. Foods like nasi padang, nasi uduk, and bebek goreng are just few of the food Indonesia as to offer. Each province have their own specialty that will get you taste buds in a frenzy within minutes.

So below I will introduce you to the various food of each of the different provinces in Indonesia: 

• Sumatra Province
• Java Province
• Kalimantan Province
• Bali Islands

Sumatra Province

The Sumatra province is popular in Indonesia for their famous food; the Nasi Padang. This food is famous in the Sumatra province because it is originated from a small city in Sumatra called Padang city. Nasi padang is not only popular in Indonesia, it is very well-known in a lot of other countries like: Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and even Los Angeles. However, the nasi padang in Los Angeles is a mixture of some of the most popular Padang food in one plate.

So, what is nasi padang? Nasi padang is basically a variety of banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals in small plates in which you only pay for what you eat. There is usually around 30-50 small plates in one serving depending on the restaurants that you go to. The price for each plate also usually varies, the price of proteins are more expensive than vegetables. The price for vegetables is usually $1 or under and the price of proteins is around $1.50 to $2.

Image courtesy of eating asia

Some of the food variety:       

  Petai(‘Stink’ beans)

Image courtesy of Eating Asia

Nasi Padang in Los Angeles (Banana Leaf Restaurant):

image courtesy of yelp

Java Province

Java province have the Indonesian Capital City which is Jakarta. Jakarta is full of traffic, even worse than that of Los Angeles at times! However, Jakarta has a lot of wonderful tasting traditional food such as; Soto Betawi, Nasi uduk, Nasi Kuning, and many more.

Soto Betawi

image courtesy of CNN

Soto Betawi is traditional meat soup which is cooked together with coconut milk, making it a creamy, a little bit sweet, and savory soup.

Nasi Uduk

Nasi uduk is a rice cooked in coconut milk and is usually served together with sambal, fried chicken, egg, tempe (soybean cake), and fried shallots.

Image courtesy of CNN

Nasi Tumpeng

“Tumpeng tells a lot of stories and the shape represents how most Indonesians perceive life, which should be balanced between their relationship with God and their surroundings,” Achyaruddin, the ministry’s director for special interest and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) said recently. - Jakarta post

Nasi tumpeng is a traditional Javanese traditional food to be eaten when they are celebrating a special event. Nasi tumpeng is usually served with Nasi kuning which is yellow rice and a lot of side dishes which is served right around the yellow rice.

Kalimantan Province

Kalimantan province has a lot of little islands, but the most famous one has got to be the Borneo Island. The Borneo Island has a lot of good foods, among those the better known ones are the oxtail curry and the Bakmi Karet/ noodles. There is one famous Borneo restaurant in Los Angeles that even the LA weekly and the LA magazine make a review of. This restaurant is the Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine in Alhambra, California.

Oxtail Curry

This dish is a soup seasoned with nutmeg, ginger, meat, tomato, and much other ingredients. What makes the one in Borneo Kalimantan stands out is that they used oxtail meat rather than other normal meat such as flank or rib-eye. People usually eat this ‘soup’ together with white rice and fried shallots.

Image courtesy of La magazine

Bakmi karet

Image courtesy of La Weekly

There may not be a better stir-fried noodle in Los Angeles right now, secret or otherwise. —James Gordon

Bali Island

Finally, the last but not the least, Bali. Bali is probably the only one that most Americans or Europeans know when we are talking about Indonesia. This is probably because Bali has a lot of beautiful beaches fit for surfing. Bali on the other hand also have a lot of delicious food that we can look for when we are in Bali. The variety of food consist of: Babi Guling, Bebek Bengil, ribs, and finally seafood.

Babi Guling

Image Courtesy of Bali-Indonesia

Babi guling is basically pork hand-stuffed with a lot of ingredients and slow-roasted till the skin is crispy. The pork will then be cut to pieces and served with white rice.

Ribs

I know most of you will think, why eat ribs in Indonesia? Well the answer to this question is very easy. The ribs in Bali is not like those you can have in other places in the earth. The seasonings they use are very different and unique, you can probably have this only in Bali.

I am going out on a limb to say that their pork ribs are life-changing, and they are definitely one of the best that I have ever had.-LadyIronChef

Jimbaran Seafood

Since Bali is located near a lot of beaches and sea, there is no way we can talk about Bali without talking about seafood. The restaurants in Bali get their seafood fresh daily! There is nothing better than eating your lunch or dinner by the beach side by the sunset.

So there you go. The next time you hear about Indonesia, think of the food and not just Bali!

Works Cited:

Gordon, James. "Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine Won Best Bornean Food in L.A. Weekly's 2014 Best Of Issue." L.A. Weekly. L.A. Weekly, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

Gunadi, Ari. "Top 10 Best Bali Food - Most Popular Food in Bali." Bali-indonesia.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

LADYIRONCHEF. "Naughty Nuri’s Warung Best Pork Ribs Bali."Ladyironchef. N.p., 29 July 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

Lin, Eddie. "Goin' Back to Kali(mantan) Cuisine at Borneo in Alhambra." L.A. Magazine. L.A. Magazine, 23 May 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

Natahadibrata, Nadya. "Celebratory Rice Cone Dish to Represent the Archipelago." Celebratory Rice Cone Dish to Represent the Archipelago. The Jakarta Post, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

"Padang's Feast Fit for a King." 'EatingAsia' Eating Asia, 07 Oct. 2006. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

Schonhardt, Sara. "40 of Indonesia's Best Dishes." 40 of Indonesia's Best Dishes. CNN, 15 Aug. 2011. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.