The Most Famous Indonesian Special Food

Indonesia is a country that consists of various tribes in it. Therefore, it is not surprising that every tribe or region has its own customs, culture and specialties.

Talking about food, as we all know there are so many types. But in this article I will only write about the typical food from an area that is already popular in Indonesia and is even becoming known in the world

What is meant by popular food here is, food that was originally only typical food consumed in an area or city but has now become the favorite menu of all Indonesians.

The following are the most popular Indonesian foods that you must try when visiting Indonesia.

1. Rendang

Rendang

This food comes from Padang, West Sumatra. Rendang is a type of dish that is used as a side dish when eating rice. Rendang is made from beef cut into squares, about 3cm x 2cm in size and about 1cm thick.

This meat is cooked with coconut milk and spices for several hours until it becomes tender and the seasonings are absorbed (usually about 3 to 5 hours). This side dish is very popular with almost everyone because of its deliciousness and also its distinctive taste.

To be able to enjoy rendang, we only need to come to a restaurant that sells padang food, so we can enjoy delicious and savory rendang. Even now, many rendang products are sold in packs and available in stores both offline and online. Just warm this packaged rendang for a while and it's ready to eat.

Along with the popularity of rendang, more and more padang restaurants have sprung up in almost all regions in Indonesia, even outside Indonesia there are Padang restaurants which of course provide rendang as its flagship menu.

2. Gudeg Jogja

Gudeg Jogja

This typical Indonesian food originating from the city of Jogjakarta has become a common food that is quite popular in all regions in Indonesia. In general, Indonesian people call it sayur gudeg. The food, which is made from chopped young jackfruit, is cooked with coconut milk and brown sugar and topped with herbs and spices. Gudeg is perfect for friends to eat rice.

For presentation, usually warm is added in the form of boiled eggs, fried tempeh (mendoan) or fried chicken.

3. Gado - gado (Javanese Salad)

Gado-gado

The next Indonesian food that is quite popular is the gado-gado. This food is made from various vegetables such as spinach, kale, long beans, corn, cucumber, carrots, potatoes and others which are sliced ​​into small pieces and then boiled until the vegetables are tender and tender.

The vegetables are then stirred with spices made from fried peanuts, brown sugar and chilies, then mashed to form peanut sauce.

Gado-gado was originally a typical food from the city of Jakarta (Betawi), but nowadays, in almost all regions in Indonesia, we can find gado-gado sellers.

Not only Indonesians like the taste of this gado-gado, even outsiders like its distinctive taste, Americans call gado-gado the javanese salad.

4. Bakso (Meatballs)

Bakso Malang

Bakso (meatballs) is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia. No wonder if in any area in Indonesia, we can easily find meatball sellers. Meatballs are made from finely ground beef mixed with wheat flour and tapioca as well as various spices and rounded shapes of various sizes, from small to jumbo-sized meatballs.

How to serve it in a bowl with additional noodles or vermicelli as well as delicious mustard greens and clear broth. Then we can add sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce according to taste.

The most distinctive meatballs in Indonesia are the bakso Malang, because they are added with dumpling crackers, siomay and tofu.

5. Pempek Palembang

Pempek Palembang

Pempek Palembang is a typical food originating from Palembang, South Sumatra, but has become a national food that is commonly consumed by people throughout Indonesia. This food is made from tapioca flour mixed with ground mackerel fish with additional spices such as garlic.

Pempek is usually made in various forms, including a submarine containing boiled egg pieces, lenjer and others. For how to serve it, pempek is fried first, then cut into pieces and then put in a plate or bowl, then given additional noodles, slices of cucumber / pickle and then poured with a sauce made from vinegar mixed with brown sugar. For those who like spicy taste, this pempek will indeed taste more delicious and fresh if you add the chili sauce made from mashed cayenne pepper.

6. Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

Nasi Goreng

Nasi gorenh was originally an innovation from parents in the past with the aim of serving food quickly. Because the staple food in Indonesia is rice, in the morning there is always leftover rice from yesterday. Because it's a shame if you have to throw away the leftover rice from yesterday, then mothers in the past fry it in the morning with additional eggs or slices of chicken and seasoned with spices.

Currently nasi goreng is a food that is widely sold anywhere. Apart from being on the side of the road in the afternoon until evening, five-star class restaurants also provide fried rice menus with various menus.

Those are some typical Indonesian foods that are very popular and have now become foods that are liked by almost all Indonesian people, even these foods are well known in other countries. There are still many other Indonesian specialties that I will write about in my other articles.