7 Delicious and Authentic Foods of Indonesia

Every country, every culture has its own delicacies. Its own superfoods. Some of them are visually appealing, while some are totally sumptuous. Looking at these 7 delicious foods of Indonesia, we would want to taste them for sure.

Well, exploring the food flavors in a country like Indonesia implies being aware of the geography of the country. Being an island nation – thousands of islands that is – the culinary flavors widely vary in different regions.

Rice, noodles, soup, vegetables, meat, fish, and spices usually combine the delicious menu of foods of Indonesia.

Of course, there are countless items in the island nation that can make you drool. With the help of Sylvany Maramis, we shall look at the 7 delicious foods of Indonesia.

Basko or Meatball

A tempting delicacy from Indonesia is Basko. The meatball special made from ground meat, onion, garlic, pepper, and tapioca flour is delicious. It is popular among almost everyone thanks to its flavorful ingredients. Basically, a street food but Basko becomes special when garnished with noodles, tofu, crisp fried shallots, and hard-boiled egg. Just imagine that. From students to busy office goers to travelers, everyone likes to indulge in it.

The meatballs vary in size and so does the basic meat ingredient. You can avail beef, chicken, pork or even fish, as per your taste. Meatball soups are famous in all Asian countries and this one is considered one of the best. They say, balancing the perfect blend of spices and softness of Basko decides the quality of Basko bowls.

Garam Asam

The sour and spicy Javanese preparation is one of the special foods of Indonesia. Ingredients like tomato, chili, coconut milk, and meat cooked wrapped in banana leaves, make it special. The outcome is sure to tempt you to long for more despite the spicy flavors.

And why not? Red and green chilies, galangal, shallots, garlic cloves, torn bay leaves to spice up the flavors. Adding Star fruits, lemongrass, baby green tomatoes, pepper, and coconut milk makes it one of the sought after foods of Indonesia

With the spices, the chicken is cooked until it turns tender. Then, it is wrapped in banana leaf and goes to the steamer until ready to be served.

Bubur Manado or Tinutuan

This is a porridge packed with healthy ingredients. It is one of the popular foods of Indonesia, specifically from Manado, North Sulawesi.

A lot of ingredients are blended into it. Such as pumpkin, spinach, fried onion, cassava/sweet potato, vegetables, young corn, basil, lemongrass, and turmeric. All these are added to rice and cooked to porridge. Tinutuan or porridge is usually enjoyed as breakfast. They prefer to eat it with salted fish or chili paste or tofu.

Not just layers of flavors, but loaded with healthy ingredients too, isn't it?

Sayur Kemunti Santan

Ever planning a visit to Manado in Indonesia? You are then going to taste Sayur Kemunti Santan. The traditional and tasty preparation by people of the region.

The variety of vegetables and spices added to prepare this dish provides a blast of flavors in your mouth. Kamunti vegetables, a little cayenne pepper, scallions, basil, lemongrass, pandan leaves, turmeric leaves, ginger, smoked fish, coconut milk, a little salt are mostly used.

This is another dish they enjoy as breakfast. Some of them add boiled eggs, homemade sauces too and enjoy it with rice cakes.

Ikan Cakalang Bakar

Are you a pescatarian? How about a grilled skipjack tuna? You are going to love this one. Although other kinds of fish can be used, the flesh density of skipjack makes it a good choice to grill. In addition to the health benefits and taste, it is easier to cook too, says my friend.

The well-cleaned fish is marinated in lime juice and salt. A while later, the fish is coated with a paste made of onion, garlic, ginger, and chili. The spices-smeared fish is wrapped in leaves and grilled on coals.

Fish is then garnished with a mixture of sliced carrots, bean sprouts, and spinach. And it is ready to be enjoyed.

It is a popular delicacy in Sulawesi Island in the country. Do try it while you are there.

Ikan Mas Woku Woka

Another fish delicacy. The locals usually use goldfish to prepare the dish and are cooked in Woka leaves hence the name. Woka is a kind of palm tree locally available. It is a typical Manado fish preparation that oozes flavors of spices, sweet and sour.

Several ingredients spice up the dish. Red cayenne pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, ginger, turmeric, chilies, candlenut, a little coconut oil, salt, and sugar powder.

With all the spices and other ingredients, the fish is either grilled or boiled wrapped in Woka leaves. Either way, you are assured of delicious taste. All the flavors when cooked in the leaf, give you a mouthwatering experience.

Perkedel Jagung

For a change here is a snack. Perkedel Jagung is one of the crispy foods of Indonesia. With minimum ingredients, you can try this at home too. Young corn, wheat flour, egg, scallions, garlic, shallots, mint leaves/celery leaves are all needed. It is one of the popular street foods throughout Indonesia. And unlike other dishes, it is not a spicy one!

As you can see in the video, the deep-fried fritter is a small-sized snack that can be enjoyed any time of the day. There is a potato version too that is widely popular in the country.

Hope you enjoyed learning about the authentic foods of Indonesia. Have you tasted any of these before? Do share your comments and feedback.

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