Indonesian Dishes

Acar

A traditional Indonesian mixed vegetable pickle. Cabbage, carrots, cucumber, and long beans are cut into strips and pickled in a lightly sweet vinegar brine with chili and sliced shallots. Served as a refreshing accompaniment to grilled and fried dishes.

Arem-Arem

Indonesian rice rolls wrapped in banana leaves. Regular rice cooked in coconut milk is pressed around a filling of spiced vegetables, tempeh, or meat, then steamed. A popular snack at ceremonies and street stalls, with a tender, mild coconut flavor.

Ayam Bakar

Traditional Indonesian grilled chicken marinated and simmered in a rich spice mixture before being finished on charcoal. The marinade includes garlic, shallots, turmeric, galangal, kecap manis, and sometimes coconut milk, creating a caramelized smoky glaze.

Ayam Goreng

Indonesian-style fried chicken, braised in a spice mixture before frying. Bone-in chicken is marinated in lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, and tamarind, then fried until golden and crispy. A staple across the archipelago with many regional variations.

Ayam Penyet

Smashed fried chicken from East Java. Fried chicken is pressed with a pestle to tenderize it and coat it in sambal. Served with extra sambal on the side, accompanied by fresh vegetables, fried tempeh, tofu, and rice.

Babi Guling

Bali's most famous celebratory dish — a whole pig stuffed with a spice paste of turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and chili, then spit-roasted until the skin is crackling and crispy. Served with rice, vegetables, and lawar.

Bakso

Indonesia's beloved meatball soup, influenced by Chinese and European culinary traditions. Springy beef meatballs are served in a clear savory broth with noodles, tofu, and wontons, finished with soy sauce and chili sauce.

Batagor

Fried fish dumplings from Bandung, invented in the 1980s with Chinese culinary roots. Fish paste dumplings, sometimes with tofu and potato, are deep-fried until crispy, cut into pieces, and smothered in peanut, soy, and chili sauce with lime.

Betutu

A Balinese ceremonial dish of chicken or duck slow-cooked with a rich spice paste, wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed or roasted for hours. The complex spice blend includes turmeric, ginger, galangal, shallots, and chili.

Bubur Ayam

Indonesia's version of chicken congee, a popular breakfast street food. Thick rice porridge is topped with shredded chicken, scallions, fried shallots, crushed peanuts, fried crullers, and soy sauce. Often served with sambal on the side.

Bubur Kacang Hijau

A sweet Indonesian porridge made from mung beans, coconut milk, and palm sugar. Commonly enjoyed as a breakfast, afternoon snack, or comforting dessert across the archipelago. The beans are simmered until soft and the porridge is warm and slightly thick.

Cap Cai

An Indonesian-Chinese mixed vegetable stir-fry. A colorful medley of vegetables like carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, baby corn, and mushrooms are stir-fried in a savory garlic-based sauce. Often includes chicken, shrimp, or meatballs.

Chicken Fried Rice

Nasi Goreng Ayam

A popular variant of Indonesian fried rice made specifically with chicken. The rice is stir-fried with chicken thigh, kecap manis, soy sauce, shallots, garlic, and spices, then topped with fried egg and crispy shallots.

Cilok

Chewy tapioca dumplings from West Java, named from the Sundanese phrase 'aci dicolok' (poked tapioca). Small balls of tapioca dough are boiled, skewered, and served with peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, or sambal.

Coto Makassar

A rich, aromatic beef soup from Makassar, South Sulawesi, rooted in Bugis and Makassarese culinary heritage. The broth is deeply spiced with a complex paste including peanuts, and typically served with sambal, rice cakes, and ketupat.

Dadar Gulung

A traditional Indonesian dessert of thin pandan-flavored rice flour crêpes filled with grated coconut and dark palm sugar. The pandan leaves give the wrapper a vibrant green color and delicate aroma. Found across Java, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Dendeng Balado

Thin slices of beef that are dried or fried until crispy, then tossed in a fiery balado (red chili) sauce. A signature dish of Padang cuisine, combining the crunch of dried beef with the bold heat of fresh chili and shallot sambal.

Empal Gentong

A richly spiced beef soup from Cirebon, West Java, known for its ceremonial cooking method. Beef and offal are simmered in a golden, coconut milk-enriched broth with aromatic spices, traditionally cooked in a large clay pot (gentong).

Es Cendol

A traditional Indonesian iced dessert drink of green pandan-flavored rice flour jelly droplets served in coconut milk with palm sugar syrup and crushed ice. Known as dawet in Javanese tradition, it is a popular refreshment across the archipelago.

Es Teler

A refreshing Indonesian iced fruit dessert from Java. Diced jackfruit, avocado, and young coconut are served in a bowl with condensed milk, syrup, and crushed ice. Variations may include flavored jelly and other tropical fruits.

Gado-Gado

An Indonesian mixed vegetable salad originating from Jakarta's Betawi people. Blanched and raw vegetables, boiled egg, tofu, tempeh, and lontong rice cakes are dressed generously with a spicy-sweet peanut sauce and topped with prawn crackers.

Getuk

A traditional Javanese dessert made from boiled and mashed cassava, sweetened with palm sugar and sometimes enriched with coconut. Modern versions (getuk lindri) are finely ground, tinted with colors, and shaped into decorative forms. Typically sold as street food.

Gorengan

A collective term for Indonesian deep-fried snacks sold at street stalls. Popular varieties include fried tofu (tahu goreng), fried sweet potato (ubi goreng), fried cassava (singkong goreng), and fried banana, all typically dipped in egg batter before frying.

Gudeg

A traditional sweet stew from Yogyakarta made from young unripe jackfruit slow-cooked for hours in palm sugar and coconut milk. The long cooking with teak leaves gives it a distinctive reddish-brown color. Served with rice, chicken, egg, and krechek.