olive podcast Indonesian food and cooking

Bali, Ubud, produce market, overhead view

10 things you need to know about Indonesian food and cooking

1. Geography

Indonesia is made up of some 17,000 islands and more than 300 different ethnicities. Naturally, its diversity is reflected in the country’s cuisine – and not just the cuisine but the heritage, art, music, everything really.

Amazing landscape. Travel in Indonesia and SouthEast Asia. Balinese traditional agriculture. Aerial drone view. Indonesian culture. Mountain view

2. Satay

In Indonesian, the word satay just refers to to any skewered dish. Here you’ll find it in the form of satay salad and satay marinade or sauce, all with no skewer in sight. The misconception is the equation of satay with peanut sauce. The Jakarta Post counted 252 unique sate (the original Indonesian spelling) varieties in Indonesia, so it baffles me why the humble peanut version has stuck in the UK.

3. Sambal

We love our sambal. A spicy sauce made from chilli peppers, it is a staple in many Indonesian dishes. Often people equate a sambal to a spicy red sauce. However, we have more than 200 different kinds that aren’t necessarily red, from West Sumatran green chilli sambal to the beautiful raw and fragrant Balinese sambal. You might say an Indonesian meal is incomplete without a side of sambal.

4. Tempeh

Tempeh is a popular vegan ingredient but most people aren't aware of its ancient Indonesian origins. Over the years, I’ve seen the growing popularity and Westernisation of it as a superfood and meat substitute. Its humble roots are far from this: it was eaten by those who were not able to afford meat as a cheap source of protein, and its creation from a traditional zero-waste culture was more from necessity than choice.

5. Rice

There is a saying in Indonesia, if you haven’t eaten rice, you haven’t eaten a meal. We could have rice for all meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner. Since we’re one of the world’s biggest producers of rice, the government established a nationwide campaign called beras-isasi a few decades ago, which translates as ‘rice-ification’, to encourage rice consumption in the 90s. This ended up defining rice as a vital component to a balanced diet.

6. Coconut

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of coconuts and they are present throughout so many dishes in our cuisine. We have the water of a young coconut as a refreshing drink along with bits of its flesh for a chewy bite. We grate the flesh of mature coconuts and use it in lots of dishes including salad dressings. We use coconut milk and coconut cream to make all sorts of dishes, from curries to cakes, baked desserts and shaved ice.

Fresh coconut water vendor peeling coconuts

7. Spices

Nutmeg and cloves originated from Indonesia, specifically from the Maluku Islands (also known as the Spice Islands),which are located in the eastern part of the country. Today, Indonesia is still one of the largest producers of nutmeg and cloves in the world. Cloves are an important spice in Indonesian cuisine and are used in a variety of dishes, as well as in traditional medicine.

8. Bumbu

Bumbu can be considered the foundation of Indonesian cuisine. It is a spice paste that typically includes garlic, shallots, chillies, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and coriander. It is used to add flavour, aroma and complexity to dishes and is often the key to achieving the unique taste of Indonesian cuisine. Many dishes, such as rendang, satay, and nasi goreng, rely heavily on bumbu for their flavours.

9. Balance

Many Indonesian dishes are based on the concept of balancing flavours. The five basic tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami – are all incorporated into dishes to create a harmonious and balanced flavour profile.

10. Communal eating

One of the most distinctive traits of Indonesian dining is that meals are always consumed in company. We have a phrase, makan tengah, which translates to ‘eating in the middle’ – having a spread of dishes across the table – though, traditionally, Indonesians would sit on the floor and food would be served to share on a banana leaf or a wooden plate, demonstrating a strong sense of communal dining.