List of Indonesian dishes facts for kids

Tumpeng nasi kuning, a special cone-shaped yellow rice surrounded by yummy Indonesian dishes, often served for parties and celebrations!

Get ready to explore the amazing world of Indonesian food! This article shares some of the most popular and delicious dishes you can find in Indonesian cuisine. From tasty rice meals to spicy curries and sweet treats, there's something for everyone to discover.

Staple Foods: The Basics

These are the main foods that Indonesians eat almost every day. They are usually made from rice or corn.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Bihun	All over Indonesia	Rice noodles	Very thin rice noodles, like super-fine spaghetti!
Burasa	Makassar, South Sulawesi	Rice cake	A soft cake made from rice and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves.
Ketan	All over Indonesia	Rice cake	Made from sticky rice, often used in sweet or savory snacks.
Ketupat	All over Indonesia	Rice dumpling	Rice cooked inside a cool diamond-shaped basket woven from palm leaves.
Kwetiau	All over Indonesia	Rice noodles	Flat, wide rice noodles, great for stir-fries.
Lemang	Malay and Minangkabau areas	Rice dish	Sticky rice, coconut milk, and salt cooked inside a bamboo stick lined with banana leaves.
Lontong	All over Indonesia	Rice cake	Pressed rice cake, usually wrapped tightly in banana leaves.
Mi	All over Indonesia	Noodles	Long strips of dough, like the noodles you find in many soups or stir-fries.
Nasi jagung	Madura and East Nusa Tenggara	Cornmeal	A "rice" made from cornmeal, popular in drier parts of Indonesia.
Nasi putih	All over Indonesia	Steamed rice	Just plain steamed white rice, the most common food!
Papeda	Eastern Indonesia	Porridge	A thick, sticky porridge made from sago, a main food in Eastern Indonesia.
Tiwul	Java	Cassava	A "rice" made from dried cassava, a root vegetable.

Main Dishes: What's for Dinner?

These are the exciting main courses, from spicy curries to grilled meats and seafood.

Spicy Curries (Gulai & Rendang)

Indonesian curries are full of flavor, often with coconut milk and lots of spices.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Gudeg	Yogyakarta and Central Java	Curry dish	Unripe jackfruit cooked for hours in palm sugar and coconut milk. It's sweet and brown!
Gulai	Minangkabau / All over Indonesia	Curry dish	Indonesian curry, usually yellow from turmeric and coconut milk. You can find it with chicken, goat, or even brain!
Gulai ayam	All over Indonesia	Chicken curry	Chicken cooked in a rich, spicy, yellowish curry sauce.
Kalio	Minangkabau	Meat curry	A type of rendang that's cooked for a shorter time, so it's still a bit saucy.
Kari ayam	All over Indonesia	Chicken curry	Chicken cooked with spices in a curry sauce.
Kari kambing	All over Indonesia	Goat curry	Goat meat cooked in a curry sauce. Very popular during Eid ul-Adha.
Kari kepala ikan	Malay areas	Fish curry	A curry made with the head of a red snapper fish, influenced by Indian cooking.
Opor ayam	All over Indonesia	Chicken curry	Chicken cooked in coconut milk. Often eaten with ketupat during Eid al-Fitr.
Rendang	Minangkabau / All over Indonesia	Meat curry	Chunks of beef stewed in coconut milk and super spicy, thick curry sauce. It's cooked until almost dry!
Tempoyak ikan patin	Palembang	Fish curry	Catfish served in a sweet and spicy curry made with fermented durian.

Delicious Meals

Here are more main dishes, including grilled and fried favorites.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Arsik	Batak, North Sumatra	Spicy fish	Spiced carp fish with special local herbs.
Ayam bakar	All over Indonesia	Grilled chicken	Chicken grilled over charcoal with spices.
Ayam geprek	Javanese	Fried chicken	Crispy fried chicken that's smashed and mixed with super hot and spicy chili sauce.
Ayam goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried chicken	Spiced chicken fried in coconut oil. A classic!
Ayam kecap	Java	Chicken dish	Chicken cooked in sweet soy sauce. It's a bit sweet and savory.
Ayam penyet	Javanese	Fried chicken	Fried chicken that's smashed to make it softer, served with chili sauce, cucumbers, tofu, and tempeh.
Ayam pop	Minangkabau	Fried chicken	Skinless, pale fried chicken from Padang, served with a special chili sauce.
Ayam rica-rica	Minahasan	Chicken dish	Chicken served with a very spicy rica-rica sauce.
Ayam taliwang	Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara	Roasted chicken	Grilled or fried chicken with a spicy sambal sauce from Lombok.
Babi guling	Bali and Minahasa	Roasted meat	Balinese-style roasted pork, often served for special events.
Babi kecap	Chinese Indonesian	Braised meat	Pork cooked in sweet soy sauce.
Bebek goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried duck	Seasoned fried duck, served with spicy chili paste.
Betutu	Bali and West Nusa Tenggara	Roasted poultry	Chicken or duck filled with spicy seasonings and roasted for many hours.
Botok or bobotok	Java	Shredded coconut	Made from shredded coconut mixed with other ingredients like vegetables or fish, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed.
Cakalang fufu	Manado, North Sulawesi	Grilled smoked fish	Smoked tuna fish, often skewered with bamboo.
Empal gepuk	West Java	Meat	Beef that's smashed until soft, soaked in coconut milk, then fried.
Iga penyet	Java	Fried ribs	Fried beef ribs served with spicy shrimp chili sauce.
Ikan asin	All over Indonesia	Salted dried fish	Fish that's salted and sun-dried, often eaten with rice and chili paste.
Ikan bakar	All over Indonesia	Grilled fish	Fish or seafood grilled over charcoal with spices.
Ikan goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried fish	Spiced fish or seafood deep-fried until crispy.
Kepiting saus padang	All over Indonesia	Seafood	Crab served in a hot and spicy Padang sauce.
Pecel lele	East Java / All over Indonesia	Fried fish	Fried catfish served with spicy sambal.
Pempek	South Sumatra / All over Indonesia	Fried fishcake	Fried fishcakes served in a sweet, sour, and spicy vinegar sauce.
Pepes	All over Indonesia	Cooked in banana-leaf	Fish, meat, tofu, or other ingredients cooked inside a banana leaf package.
Perkedel	All over Indonesia	Fried dish	Made from mashed potatoes, sometimes with minced meat or corn, then fried.
Puyunghai	Chinese Indonesian	Egg dish	An omelette with vegetables and meat (like crab or shrimp), served with a sweet and sour sauce.
Satay, satai or sate	All over Indonesia	Roasted skewered meat	Small pieces of meat grilled on skewers, usually served with peanut sauce or sweet soy sauce.
Sate babi	Balinese, Batak, Indo, Chinese Indonesian	Roasted skewered meat	Satay made from pork, popular in non-Muslim communities.
Sate kambing	All over Indonesia	Roasted skewered meat	Satay made from goat or lamb meat, often served during Eid ul-Adha.
Sate lilit	Bali	Roasted skewered meat	Minced meat (pork, fish, or chicken) mixed with spices and wrapped around a bamboo or lemongrass stick, then grilled.
Sate madura	Madurese	Roasted skewered meat	Chicken or mutton satay with a special black sauce made from sweet soy sauce and peanut paste.
Sate padang	Padang, West Sumatra	Roasted skewered meat	Beef satay with a thick, yellow, spicy sauce.
Se'i	Timorese	Smoked meat	Smoked meat (often pork) with a unique taste from salt and spices.
Selat solo	Solo, Central Java	Beefsteak, salad	Braised beef served in a thin sauce with vegetables and potatoes. It's a mix of European and Javanese styles.
Swikee	Purwodadi, Central Java	Frog leg dish	Frog legs cooked in different sauces.
Telur asin	All over Indonesia	Egg dish	Salted duck eggs, a popular side dish.
Udang balado	Minangkabau	Seafood	A hot and spicy shrimp dish.
Woku	Manado, North Sulawesi	Spicy dish	Chicken or seafood (like fish) served with a spicy yellow sauce from Manado.

Soy-Based Foods

Soybeans are super important in Indonesian cooking, especially for making tofu and tempeh.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Oncom	West Java	Fermented food	Fermented beans, often used in spicy dishes.
Tahu	All over Indonesia	Tofu dish	A soft food made from soy milk, like a cheese. It can be fried, stir-fried, or used in soups.
Tahu campur	Lamongan, East Java	Tofu dish	Fried tofu, rice cakes, bean sprouts, and noodles, served in a savory beef stew.
Tahu goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried tofu	Deep-fried tofu, often served with chili sauce.
Tempeh	All over Indonesia	Fermented food	A block of fermented soybeans. It can be fried, stir-fried, or used in many different dishes.
Tempeh burger	All over Indonesia	Hamburger	A burger with tempeh patties instead of meat.

Preserved Meats

These dishes use special ways to preserve meat, making them unique and flavorful.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Cha sio	Chinese Indonesian	Roasted meat	Chinese-style roasted pork.
Dendeng	All over Indonesia	Meat dish	Thinly sliced dried meat, often fried and spicy.
Serundeng	Java	Sprinkle dry meat	Beef cooked with grated coconut and spices. It's often sprinkled on other dishes.

Rice Dishes and Porridges

Rice is super important in Indonesia! Here are some popular ways it's prepared.

Congees and Porridges

These are soft, comforting rice dishes, often eaten for breakfast or when you need something warm.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Bubur ayam	Java	Rice porridge	Rice porridge served with soy sauce, shredded chicken, fried shallots, and crackers.
Bubur kacang hijau	All over Indonesia	Sweet porridge	Green bean porridge, sweetened with sugar and served with thick coconut milk.
Bubur ketan hitam	All over Indonesia	Sweet porridge	Black glutinous rice porridge, sweetened with sugar and coconut milk.
Bubur sumsum	All over Indonesia	Sweet porridge	White porridge made from rice flour, eaten with brown sugar sauce.
Tinutuan	Manado, North Sulawesi	Rice porridge	Rice porridge with corn, vegetables, and sometimes salted fish.

Rice Cake Dishes

Rice cakes are a chewy and delicious way to enjoy rice.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Ketupat sayur	West Sumatra and Jakarta	Rice cake dish	Rice cakes served with chicken or meat soup in coconut milk and vegetables.
Kupat tahu	Javanese and Sundanese	Rice cake dish	Rice cakes served with fried tofu and bean sprouts in peanut sauce.
Lontong cap go meh	Betawi and Chinese Indonesian	Rice cake dish	Rice cakes served in a rich soup with chicken, egg, and meat, often for Chinese New Year celebrations.

Rice Dishes

These are full meals where rice is the star, mixed with all sorts of yummy ingredients.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Nasi bakar	All over Indonesia	Rice dish	Steamed rice with spices, wrapped in banana leaf, and then grilled over charcoal.
Nasi campur or nasi rames	All over Indonesia	Rice dish	Mixed rice with different vegetables and your choice of meat.
Nasi goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried rice	Steamed rice stir-fried with eggs, meat, and vegetables, often with sweet soy sauce.
Nasi goreng jawa	Javanese	Fried rice	Javanese-style fried rice, usually seasoned with chili paste.
Nasi goreng kambing	Betawi	Fried rice	Spicy fried rice with goat meat, cooked in ghee (clarified butter).
Nasi kuning	All over Indonesia	Rice dish	Yellow rice cooked with coconut milk and turmeric, often served for special events.
Nasi lemak	All over Indonesia	Rice dish	Fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf, often eaten for breakfast.
Nasi liwet	Solo, Central Java	Rice dish	Rice cooked with coconut milk, served with chicken, egg, and spicy broth.
Nasi padang	All over Indonesia	Rice dish	Rice served with many different dishes from the Padang region, often spicy and rich with coconut milk.
Nasi pecel	Java	Rice dish	Rice served with cooked vegetables and peanut sauce.
Nasi uduk	Betawi	Rice dish	Steamed rice cooked with coconut milk, served with various vegetables and meat.
Tumpeng	All over Indonesia	Rice dish	A cone-shaped rice dish surrounded by many different side dishes, used for celebrations.

Noodle Dishes: Slurp!

Noodles are a big part of Indonesian food, served in many delicious ways.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Bakmi	All over Indonesia	Noodle dish	Boiled noodles often mixed with pork, chicken, or beef fat for flavor.
Bihun goreng	All over Indonesia	Noodle dish	Fried thin rice noodles with spices and sweet soy sauce.
Kwetiau goreng	All over Indonesia	Noodle dish	Stir-fried flat noodles, similar to char kway teow.
Laksa	All over Indonesia	Noodle soup	A spicy noodle soup with thick wheat noodles or rice vermicelli, chicken, prawn, or fish, in a rich curry coconut milk soup.
Mi aceh	Aceh	Noodle dish	Spicy Acehnese curry noodles. Can be fried, dry, or soupy, often with goat meat or seafood.
Mi ayam	Javanese and Chinese Indonesian	Chicken noodle	Noodles with chicken, often served with spring onions and chicken soup.
Mi bakso	All over Indonesia	Noodle soup	Noodle soup with bakso (beef meatballs).
Mi goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried noodles	Fried noodles with eggs, sometimes chicken, beef, or seafood, and vegetables.
Mi jawa	Javanese	Noodle dish	Traditional Javanese-style noodles, often soupy or fried.
Soto mi	All over Indonesia	Noodle soup	A spicy noodle soup dish.

Soups and Stews: Warm and Comforting

Indonesian soups and stews are packed with flavor and often very hearty.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Asam pedas	Malay and Minangkabau	Stew	A sour and spicy fish stew, popular in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Bakso	All over Indonesia	Meatball	Beef meatballs, usually served in a beef broth with noodles, vegetables, and fried shallots.
Bakwan malang	Malang, East Java and Bali	Meatball soup	Meatball noodle soup with fried wontons, from Malang.
Brongkos	Yogyakarta and Central Java	Meat stew	Meat (beef or mutton) stew with beans in a spicy soup made with kluwek nuts and coconut milk.
Coto makassar	Makassarese	Meat soup	A traditional beef and offal soup from Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Konro	Buginese and Makassarese	Meat soup	A spicy ribs soup, a specialty of Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Pindang	Palembang, South Sumatra	Fish soup	Fish boiled in salty and sour spices, often with tamarind.
Rawon	East Java	Meat soup	A beef soup with a dark color from kluwek nuts. Served with bean sprouts and salted duck eggs.
Sayur asem	All over Indonesia	Vegetable soup	A sour clear soup with various vegetables like corn, peanuts, and tamarind.
Sayur lodeh	All over Indonesia	Vegetable soup	Mixed vegetables cooked in a coconut milk stew.
Semur	All over Indonesia	Stew	A stew made with sweet soy sauce and spices, usually with beef.
Sop buntut	All over Indonesia	Meat Soup	Ox-tail soup, served in a clear broth or roasted with barbecue sauce.
Soto	All over Indonesia	Meat soup	A famous soup with chicken or beef. Many types exist, often yellow from turmeric.
Soto ayam	All over Indonesia	Meat soup	A yellow spicy chicken soup with rice cakes or rice vermicelli.
Soto betawi	Betawi	Meat soup	A type of soto made with beef or beef offal, cooked in a whitish broth of cow milk or coconut milk.
Sup kambing	All over Indonesia	Meat soup	Mutton soup with goat meat, tomato, and spices in a savory broth.
Tekwan	Palembang, South Sumatra	Fishcake soup	A soup with fishcakes, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms.
Tongseng	Solo, Central Java	Meat soup	Goat meat or beef stew in a curry-like soup with vegetables and sweet soy sauce.

Salads and Vegetable Dishes: Fresh and Healthy

Indonesian salads are often unique, with special sauces and fresh ingredients.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Acar	All over Indonesia	Pickles	Various chopped vegetables pickled in vinegar.
Asinan	Java	Salad	Pickled vegetables or fruits, often brined or vinegared.
Cah kangkung	All over Indonesia	Vegetarian food	Stir-fried water spinach, a popular green vegetable.
Cap cai	Chinese Indonesian	Vegetarian food	Stir-fried dish with ten types of vegetables.
Gado-gado	Java	Salad	A mix of vegetables and crackers with a delicious peanut sauce. Often called the "Indonesian salad."
Karedok	West Java	Salad	Raw vegetables served with peanut sauce, similar to gado-gado but with raw veggies.
Ketoprak	Jakarta	Vegetarian food	Similar to gado-gado but with rice vermicelli and a salty sauce.
Lalap	Sundanese and Javanese	Salad	Raw vegetable salad served with spicy sambal terasi.
Pecel	Central Java and East Java	Salad	Javanese traditional salad served with peanut sauce.
Rujak	All over Indonesia	Salad	Many kinds, but Rujak Buah (fruit rujak) is common: mixed fruit with a sweet and spicy coconut sugar sauce.
Rujak cingur	Surabaya, East Java	Vegetables with cow's lips	A mix of vegetables, tofu, tempeh, rice cake, and bean sprouts with a black fish paste sauce and boiled cow's lips.
Tauge goreng	Bogor, West Java	Stir fried bean sprout	Stir-fried bean sprouts with tofu, rice cake, and noodles, served in a spicy sauce.
Terong balado	Minangkabau	Spicy dish	Eggplant cooked in a spicy balado sauce.
Urap	Javanese	Salad	Steamed vegetables mixed with seasoned and spiced grated coconut.

Breads and Sandwiches: Quick Bites

From fluffy cakes to savory flatbreads, these are great for snacks or light meals.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Apam	All over Indonesia	Bread, pancake	A steamed dough made of rice flour, coconut milk, and palm sugar, served with grated coconut.
Bakpau	All over Indonesia	Bread, dumpling	A type of steamed bun filled with chocolate, cheese, minced beef, or chicken.
Bolu pandan	All over Indonesia	Cake	A light, green sponge cake flavored with pandan leaves.
Chapati	Indian Indonesian	Flatbread	A thin, unleavened flatbread from India, popular in Indonesia.
Panada	Manado, North Sulawesi	Fried bread	Fried bread filled with spicy tuna, shaped like an empanada.
Roti bakar	All over Indonesia	Toast	Toast served with jam, chocolate, or cheese, a common street food.
Roti bolen	All over Indonesia	Baked pastry	Baked pastry with layers like a croissant, filled with cheese and banana.
Roti canai	Acehnese, Malay, Minangkabau, Indian Indonesian	Flatbread	Indian-influenced flatbread, often served with curry.
Roti jala	Malay and Minangkabau	Pancake	A pancake that looks like a lace doily, often served with curry.

Snacks and Starters: Small Bites

These are perfect for a quick snack or to start a meal.

Savory Snacks

These snacks are usually salty or spicy.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Arem-arem	Java	Rice cake	Similar to lontong, but flavored with coconut milk and stuffed with ground meat or tofu and tempeh.
Bakwan	All over Indonesia	Fried dish	A traditional fritter made with vegetables and batter, deep-fried.
Batagor	West Java	Dumpling, fishcake	Fried tofu and meatballs, a variant of siomay.
Cakwe	Java	Doughnut, fried dish	A long, golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough, often eaten with rice porridge.
Cilok	Bandung, West Java	Dumpling	Ball-shaped dumplings made from tapioca starch, served with peanut sauce or chili sauce.
Cireng	West Java	Fried dish	A small snack made from fried tapioca batter.
Donat kentang	All over Indonesia	Doughnut	Doughnuts made from flour and mashed potatoes, often coated in sugar.
Epok-epok	Malay	Dumpling, fried dish	A dumpling snack usually filled with chicken and potato with a dry curry inside.
Kerak telor	Jakarta	Omelette	An omelette made from chicken or duck egg mixed with glutinous rice and spices, served with coconut flakes.
Kroket	All over Indonesia	Fried dish	A type of croquette, made of mashed potato filled with minced chicken.
Lemper	Java	Rice cake	A traditional rice cake made from glutinous rice, usually filled with chicken.
Lumpia	All over Indonesia	Spring roll	A spring roll with savory or sweet fillings, often deep-fried or served fresh.
Martabak	All over Indonesia	Pancake	Indonesian version of Murtabak, sometimes filled with beef and scallions, or sweet fillings like chocolate and peanuts.
Mendoan	Central Java	Fried dish	Deep-fried battered tempeh, cooked lightly so it's still soft.
Otak-otak	All over Indonesia	Fishcake	Fish paste, spiced and wrapped in banana leaves, then grilled and served with peanut sauce.
Pastel	All over Indonesia	Fried dumpling	Fried flour dumpling filled with vegetables and meat.
Pisang goreng	All over Indonesia	Fried dish	Battered and deep-fried banana or plantain.
Risoles	All over Indonesia	Spring roll, pastry	Fried rolls with breadcrumbs, filled with vegetables and meat.
Siomay	Sundanese and Chinese Indonesian	Dumpling, fishcake	A light meal similar to Chinese Dim Sum, often made from mackerel fish and served with peanut sauce.
Tahu gejrot	Cirebon, West Java	Tofu dish	Deep-fried tofu served with a sauce made from coconut sugar, sweet soy sauce, chili, and garlic.

Sweet Snacks

These are perfect for a sweet treat!

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Bakpia	All over Indonesia	Pastry, bean cake	A popular pastry filled with sweet mung bean paste.
Dadar gulung	Javanese / All over Indonesia	Pancake	A green-colored pancake made of rice flour, filled with grated coconut and palm sugar.
Gethuk	Java	Cassava cake	Mashed cassava, sweetened with sugar, often served with fresh grated coconut.
Kaasstengels	All over Indonesia	Cookie	Cookies made with flour, eggs, margarine, and grated cheese. Popular during holidays.
Klappertaart	Manado, North Sulawesi	Coconut custard	A tart made from flour, sugar, milk, butter, and coconut flesh and juice.
Klepon	All over Indonesia	Sweet coconut cake	Boiled rice cakes, stuffed with coconut sugar, and rolled in fresh grated coconut.
Kue cubit	All over Indonesia	Cake	A small cake that's "pinched" to eat, often cooked on a special pan.
Kue cucur	All over Indonesia	Pancake	A pancake made of fried rice flour batter and coconut sugar.
Kue lapis	All over Indonesia	Layered cake	A traditional snack of colorful layered soft rice flour pudding.
Lapis legit or spekuk	All over Indonesia	Layered cake	A spiced layered cake, made mainly of egg yolk, flour, and butter.
Mochi	Chinese Indonesian and Japanese Indonesian	Sweet rice cake	Rice flour-based cakes filled with peanut paste, sometimes with sesame seeds.
Nastar	All over Indonesia	Pastry	Round cookies with pineapple jam inside, often decorated with cloves.
Onde-onde	All over Indonesia	Pastry, rice ball	Glutinous rice cake balls, filled with sweet green bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds, and then fried.
Kue putu	All over Indonesia	Sweet coconut cake	Cylindrical steamed rice cakes with coconut sugar, often served with grated coconut.
Serabi	Java	Pancake	Rice pancake made from rice flour and coconut milk.
Stroopwafel	All over Indonesia	Waffle	A wafer cookie made from two thin layers of baked dough joined by a caramel filling.
Terang bulan	All over Indonesia	Pancake	A thick, sweet pancake, often filled with chocolate, cheese, or peanuts.
Wajik	All over Indonesia	Sweets	A diamond-shaped sweet glutinous rice cake.

Crackers, Chips, and Crisps: Crunchy Goodness

Indonesians love their crunchy snacks! These are great for munching.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Emping	All over Indonesia	Cracker	Crackers made from flattened Gnemon/Belinjo seeds.
Keripik	All over Indonesia	Chips	Traditional chips or crisps, can be savory or sweet.
Keripik pisang	All over Indonesia	Chips	Crispy banana chips.
Kerupuk	All over Indonesia	Cracker	Deep-fried crisps made from tapioca flour, often with prawn, fish, or garlic. They come in many shapes and colors!
Kerupuk kulit sapi or kerbau	All over Indonesia	Cracker	Cow or buffalo skin crackers.
Kerupuk udang	All over Indonesia	Cracker	Deep-fried snack made from starch and prawn.
Rempeyek	All over Indonesia	Cracker	A deep-fried savory Javanese cracker made from flour with other ingredients like peanuts.
Rengginang	All over Indonesia	Cracker	A traditional thick rice cracker made from cooked glutinous sticky rice.

Sweet Desserts: A Sweet Ending

Indonesian desserts are often colorful and use ingredients like coconut milk and palm sugar.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Agar-agar	All over Indonesia	Jelly	Puddings and jellies flavored with fruits or other ingredients.
Bika ambon	Medan, North Sumatra	Cake	A spongy cake made with tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, and coconut milk, often pandan flavored.
Cincau	All over Indonesia	Jelly	A jelly-like dessert with a mild, slightly bitter taste, served chilled with fruit or in drinks.
Dodol or jenang	Java	Sweets	Sticky glutinous rice flour sweets, sweetened with coconut sugar, often with fruit flavors like durian.
Kolak	All over Indonesia	Sweet cocktail	A mix of sweet potato, cassava, banana, and pumpkin, stewed in coconut milk and palm sugar.
Kue lapis	All over Indonesia	Pudding, layered cake	A traditional snack of colorful layered soft rice flour pudding.
Nata de coco	All over Indonesia	Jelly	A jelly-like food made from fermented coconut water.
Poffertjes	All over Indonesia	Pancake	Small, light, and spongy pancakes.

Cheeses: Unique Dairy Treats

Indonesia also has some interesting traditional cheeses!

Name	Image	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Dali ni horbo		North Sumatra	Cheese	A cheese-like dish made by boiling buffalo milk and curdling it with papaya leaf or unripe pineapple juice.
Dangke		South Sulawesi	Cheese	A traditional cheese made from buffalo or cow milk, processed by boiling with papaya leaves.

Seasonings and Condiments: The Flavor Boosters

These are the sauces and sprinkles that make Indonesian food so special.

Name	Where it's Popular	Type	What it is
Abon	All over Indonesia	Sprinkle dry condiments	Dried meat (beef, chicken, or fish) with a light, fluffy texture, often sprinkled on rice.
Balado	Minangkabau	Sauce	A hot and spicy sauce made by stir-frying ground red chili peppers with other spices.
Bawang goreng	All over Indonesia	Garnish	Crispy fried onions or shallots, sprinkled on many dishes for extra flavor and crunch.
Bumbu kacang	All over Indonesia	Sauce	A sauce made from ground roasted peanuts, used with satays, salads, or as a dipping sauce.
Colo-colo	Maluku	Sauce	A fresh, spicy sauce with chopped chilies, tomatoes, shallots, and lime juice. Great with grilled fish!
Dabu-dabu	North Sulawesi	Sauce	Sliced chili, tomatoes, and shallots. A fresh condiment for grilled fish.
Kecap manis and kecap asin	All over Indonesia	Sauce	Soy sauces, available in sweet (manis) and salty (asin) versions.
Pecel	Java	Sauce	A spicy peanut paste used with vegetables and crackers.
Rica-rica	Manado, North Sulawesi	Spicy sauce	A very spicy sauce made from chopped chilies.
Sambal	All over Indonesia	Spicy sauce	Chili sauce with many different types across Indonesia, often using shrimp paste.
Tempoyak	Sumatra and Kalimantan	Fermented food spicy condiment	Durian fruit fermented with salt, then mixed with ground chili and shrimp paste.
Terasi or belacan	All over Indonesia	Shrimp paste	A dried shrimp paste, used to add a strong, savory flavor to many dishes.