Indonesian cuisine is diverse, in part because Indonesia is composed
of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 18,000 in the world's
largest archipelago.Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon indigenous
culture and foreign influences.Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and
has many different influences.
Throughout its history, Indonesia has been involved in trade due to its
location and natural resources. Additionally, Indonesia’s indigenous techniques
and ingredients were influenced by India, the Middle East, China, and finally
Europe. Spanish and Portuguese traders brought New World produce even before
the Dutch came to colonize most of the archipelago. The Indonesian islands The
Moluccas (Maluku), which are famed as "the Spice Islands", also
contributed to the introduction of native spices, such as cloves and nutmeg, to
Indonesian and global cuisine. Five main Indonesian cooking methods are goreng
(frying), bakar or panggang (grilling), tumis (stir frying),
rebus (boiling) and kukus (steaming).
Some popular Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng,gado-gado, sate, and soto
are ubiquitous in the country and considered as Indonesian national dishes.
Sumatran cuisine, for example, often has Middle Eastern and Indian
influences, featuring curried meat and vegetables such as gulai and kari,
while Javanese cuisine is mostly indigenous,with some hint of Chinese
influence. The cuisines of Eastern Indonesia are similar to Polynesian and
Melanesian cuisine. Elements of Chinese cuisine can be seen in Indonesian
cuisine: foods such as bakmi (noodles), bakso (meat or fish
balls), and lumpia (spring rolls) have been completely assimilated.
Some popular dishes that originated in Indonesia are now common across much
of Southeast Asia. Indonesian dishes such as satay, beef rendang,
and sambal are also favoured in Malaysia and Singapore. Soy-based
dishes, such as variations of tofu (tahu) and tempe, are also
very popular. Tempe is regarded as a Javanese invention, a local
adaptation of soy-based food fermentation and production. Another fermented
food is oncom, similar in some ways to tempe but using a variety
of bases (not only soy), created by different fungi, and particularly popular
in West Java. (www.wikipedia.org)
