An archipelago cuisine of more than 17,000 islands, anchored by sambal, coconut, and a long spice-trade history that helped reshape global cooking.
What it is
Indonesian cuisine is a chain of regional kitchens — Padang, Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Manadonese — strung across thousands of islands. The Spice Islands of Maluku gave the world nutmeg, mace, and cloves; that wealth of aromatics still defines local cooking, from sweet kecap-glazed grills to fiery sambals.
How it tastes
A Padang plate hits you with chili-coconut depth; a Javanese one leans sweeter from palm sugar and kecap manis. Sambal — pounded chili paste — is the universal condiment, with hundreds of regional variations.
Signature dishes & techniques
Rendang, slow-simmered for hours until the coconut milk fries the beef in its own oil, was crowned “world’s most delicious food” by CNN polls and traces to Minangkabau Sumatra. Nasi goreng, fried rice perfumed with kecap manis and shallot, is the national plate. Sate, gado-gado, and aromatic soto ayam round out the everyday repertoire.
Find more cuisines by letter
Indonesian starts with I and ends with N. Browse other cuisines along the same letter.
Cuisines that contain a letter from "Indonesian":