Taste of Indonesia

What to Eat in Indonesia – Top 30 Foods

Indonesian cuisine is highly regional, built around rice, chili sambal, coconut milk, and complex spice pastes. West Sumatra, Java, and Bali each have strong local identities.

A table of Indonesian favorites

1. Rendang – Slow-cooked beef in coconut milk and spices until dry and intensely flavored (West Sumatra).

2. Nasi Goreng – Fried rice with kecap manis, garlic, chili, and egg.

   
   

   

   Nasi Goreng

3. Satay (Sate) – Grilled meat skewers with peanut sauce or other sauces.

4. Gado-gado – Vegetable salad with peanut sauce, tofu, tempeh, and egg.

5. Soto – Spiced soups with many regional broths (chicken, beef, or coconut).

6. Nasi Padang – Rice served with an array of curries, rendang, and side dishes.

7. Bakso – Meatball soup, an everyday comfort food.

8. Ayam Goreng – Spiced fried chicken.

9. Pempek – Palembang fish cakes with sweet-spicy cuko sauce.

10. Rawon – East Java black beef soup flavored with keluak nuts.

11. Siomay – Steamed fish dumplings with vegetables and peanut sauce.

12. Batagor – Fried fish dumplings or tofu with peanut sauce (Bandung).

13. Nasi Uduk – Coconut rice with various toppings.

14. Bubur Ayam – Chicken rice porridge.

    
    

    

    Bubur Ayam

15. Tempeh – Fermented soybean cake, fried or cooked.

16. Sambal – Chili-based sauces served with almost everything.

17. Pecel – Vegetables with peanut sauce.

18. Ikan Bakar – Grilled fish.

19. Gudeg – Yogyakarta jackfruit stew with coconut milk and palm sugar.

20. Ayam Penyet – Smashed fried chicken with sambal.

21. Perkedel – Potato or meat fritters.

22. Nasi Kuning – Yellow turmeric rice for celebrations.

    
    

    

    Nasi Kuning

23. Bebek Goreng – Fried duck.

24. Gulai – Coconut-based curries.

    
    

    

    Gulai

25. Street snacks and market foods – Including various fritters and regional specialties.

    
    

    Desserts

    
    

26. Kue Lapis – Layered colorful steamed rice cakes (pink/white stripes on the left; green and other colors elsewhere).

27. Onde-onde / Sesame balls – Round golden sesame-coated glutinous rice balls (top right).

28. Nagasari or similar banana-leaf wrapped cakes – Green packages of steamed banana-stuffed rice cake (several baskets).

29. Kue Bugis / Mendut – Green banana-leaf wrapped glutinous rice cakes with coconut filling.

30. Dadar Gulung – Green rolled pandan crepes filled with coconut and palm sugar (right side).

31. Kue Ku or Angku Kueh-style – Round purple/green/white molded cakes with fillings (center).

32. Carabikang or flower-shaped cakes – Yellow and orange molded sweets (top).

33. Kue Cucur or fried snacks – Golden fried pieces (bottom center).

    
    

    

    Kue – Indonesian market cakes and snacks

    
    

34. Getuk or colored rice cakes – Pink and white pieces, purple rounds, and other bright steamed items.

35. Lemper-style or filled parcels – Some of the leaf-wrapped items may contain savory fillings, though most look sweet.Klepon – Sweet rice balls filled with palm sugar and coated in coconut.

36. Es Cendol – Green pandan jelly in coconut milk and palm sugar.

37. Pisang Goreng – Fried banana.

38. Martabak Manis – Thick sweet pancake with chocolate or cheese.

39. Kue Putu – Steamed rice cake with palm sugar filling.

40. Fresh tropical fruit – Mangosteen, rambutan, salak (snake fruit), mango, and durian from local markets.

    
    

    

    Fresh tropical fruit