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The best curry in the world.
Indonesian curries are delicious, and one of the best in the world is Nasi Padang in West Sumatra. Visitors can enjoy a portion of steamed rice with either beef or chicken curry (ayam kalio). Side dishes include jackfruit curry or boiled cassava leaves, served with sambal ijo (a green sauce with fried anchovies) or balbal sambal (red chilies, salt, and coconut oil) and slices of fresh cucumber. Alternatively, visitors can also enjoy beef curry in the Acehnese region, located between the far north of Sumatra and the far north of Sulawesi, which is also a delightful experience.
Soto
Soto is a traditional Indonesian dish, much like Pho in Vietnam or Ramen in Korea. Soto is made with beef or chicken and vegetables, with many variations depending on regional preferences and traditions. Therefore, each region in Indonesia has a different name for soto, which may be sroto, coto, or tauto. The broth is flavorful, with well-absorbed spices, herbs, and even coconut cream. Each soto recipe has its own unique taste, reflecting the culture and customs of each region in Indonesia.
Grilled Satay Dishes
Sate (grilled meat) is one of Indonesia's traditional dishes. In fact, Sate is perhaps the dish most closely associated with the Indonesian archipelago in the eyes of many tourists worldwide. This unique dish is grilled over hot coconut charcoal with various spices, herbs, and special sauces. Whether it's pork, goat, seafood, beef, or even quail eggs, Sate is always appealing, especially when enjoyed with peanut sauce or a special sambal sauce.
Super Sambal
Sambal is an essential condiment consisting of chili peppers, salt, sweet soybeans, oranges, tangerines, plus a variety of additional ingredients to create a very distinctive flavor. Interestingly, Sambal can be prepared raw or cooked. In Indonesia, there are over 300 types of Sambal, with each region having its own version, evidence of the addictive nature of this delightful hot sauce. Sambal combines many readily available natural ingredients, especially chili peppers, and remains a signature dish of this Southeast Asian nation. Enjoying grilled satay with Sambal is a fantastic culinary experience for visitors to Indonesia.
Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)
Sweet soy sauce originates from China, but kecap manis is a unique Indonesian version, primarily featuring caramel or honey. It also contains fermented soybeans, spices, palm sugar syrup, or coconut sugar syrup. Sweet soy sauce is used in both traditional and modern dishes, especially with beef, chicken, tofu stew (semur), fried rice, and stir-fried noodles.
