Indonesia food

Indonesian cuisine is one of the most vibrant and colourful cuisines in the world, full of intense flavour. [1] It is diverse, in part because
Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago, [2][3] with more than 300 ethnic groups calling Indonesia home. [4] Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon indigenous culture and foreign influences. [3] Indonesia has around 5,350 traditional recipes, with 30 of them considered the most important. [4] Indonesia's cuisine may include rice, noodle and soup dishes in modest local eateries to street-side snacks and top-dollar plates.
In 2011, Indonesian cuisine began to gain worldwide recognition, with three of its popular dishes make it to the list of 'World's 50 Most Delicious Foods (Readers' Pick)', a worldwide online poll by 35,000 people held by CNN International. Rendang top the list as the number one, followed closely by nasi goreng in number two, and satay in number fourteen. [5]
Indonesian cuisine varies greatly by region and has many different influences. [3][6][7]
Sumatran cuisine, for example, often has Middle Eastern and Indian influences, featuring curried meat and vegetables such as gulai and
curry, while Javanese cuisine is mostly indigenous, [3] 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
noodles , meat balls , and spring rolls have been completely assimilated.
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 colonise 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.
Indonesian cuisine often demonstrates complex flavour , [8] acquired from certain ingredients and bumbu spices mixture. Indonesian dishes have rich flavours; most often described as savory , hot and spicy , and also combination of basic tastes such as
sweet , salty, sour and bitter . Most of Indonesians favour hot and spicy food, thus
sambal, Indonesian hot and spicy chili sauce with shrimp paste, is a staple condiment at all Indonesian tables. [9] Seven main Indonesian
cooking methods are frying , grilling , roasting ,
dry roasting , sautéing, boiling and steaming .