Indonesian Cuisine

A local Indonesian "wrap"

One of the most popular questions I get after returning from a trip is "How was the food?" So what better topic to address next regarding my recent trip to Bali, Java, Borneo, Flores, Komodo, Rinca and Peucang Islands in the Indonesian archipelago. I assumed that since these were all islands in the middle of the ocean that seafood would be readily available. Bad assumption on my part! Granted, we did spend a lot of our time in the interior of Java but you would think it wouldn't be that big of a deal to transport fresh fish inland a few miles. However, I guess with the cost of fuel and the poverty level in Asia my expectations were a bit on the high side. Most of the fish at the markets were of the small, dried (and very aromatic) variety. Whenever we had fish it was usually fried and served like this:

The few times there was seafood on the menu it was either not available or came with scales, eyes, bones, shells and all. Here is another cultural aspect I wasn't ready for. They eat the heads and the shells on their shrimp! I'm afraid that kind of crunch is a bit outside my comfort zone... so I popped off the heads and peeled my shrimp thank you very much :)

At first I thought I'd try to eat mostly vegetarian since there is very little refrigeration in the markets and homes and the threat of Avian Flu is everpresent. But the tofu had a bit of a strange taste to me and the tempeh was usually fried. If you love fried foods you will do well in Indonesia. I however, gave up fried foods a long time ago and have been living a healthy life on mostly natural, unprocessed organic foods. After a big shock in India where the food was so spicy I could barely eat it, I packed a few more nut/fruit bars and turkey jerky for this trip.





The sate (grilled meat on a stick) was excellent. I was surprised at how difficult it was to find cooked veggies considering the vast fields of veggies that we drove by. Thank goodness there was a Chinese influence and I could quite often order Cap Cay - which is a mixed veggie dish. I usually don't eat white rice, but rice or noodles are the main staple in Asia. There are so many people in Indonesia they now cannot grow enough rice to support their population, so they import it from Thailand and Vietnam. Many Indonesians eat Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice with a Fried Egg on top) for every meal.






Most of the fruit was great and usually readily available. I loved the small bananas - they were so very sweet. There were many different varieties to choose from. I tried the Salak - Ms. Elly's favorite fruit. The unique snake skin appearance didn't chase me away but the slime did. I'm just not a fan of slimey things. They look like little almonds or garlic cloves after you peel them but they have a very distinctive taste and are, well, slimey!





The other slimey treat - a drink made from a young coconut was enjoyed by many, but after trying it in India or Madagascar, I remembered the slimey, soft, coconut and lack of any familiar taste of coconut and passed... I'll stick with the bottled water or better yet, a nice cold tall Bintang - the local beer. Oh, but Indonesia is mostly Muslim so good luck finding a beer. This was probably one of the more frustrating parts of the visit! The price climbed and availability dwindled as we drove from Bali west through Java. The top price was for a warm beer on a boat in Borneo.




I also tried the local Bali beers called Storm and Bali High. Bintang was probably the best of the local beers, but no competition against the delicious Guiness Stout I had in Malang at the Popular Toke Oen restaurant.


One of the fun new fruits I really enjoyed experiencing was the Mangosteen. We've all heard about how good it is for you and have seen drinks with Mangosteen but I'd never actually seen one. They have a very tough outer shell, but the white bulbs that you eat are soft and sweet when properly ripened. Thanks to our guide in Bali we enjoyed several of them with our breakfasts. Here is a photo of one:





The local markets are probably the best place for photography and exploration. They never cease to amaze me. I'm still trying to quantify how many different products are made from rice. Here are a few photos of the kinds of things for sale in markets across Bali and Java.







One of the most unique experiences was probably the hotel "High Teas." Whereas we are used to crumpets and finger sandwiches and the like - in Indonesia you find coconut soups, spring rolls, tofu wraps, rice bundles, and a variety of fried foods similar to those shown here:



Almost every village had some sort of food drying by the side of the road. Rice was a popular item, usually drying on a tarp or in a flat basket, but these chips caught my eye and we stopped for a photo:


I've never seen so many varieties of chips. The fluorescent pink variety really worried me though! We ended up addicted to the BBQ Flavored Cassava chips - which luckily can be found at your local Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocer in the states. The shrimp flavored chips were popular and probably had the most inconsistent variety in flavor across the country.

We also saw fisherman bringing in their 'catches' of seaweed and laying them out to dry - with the health food craze seaweed has become a very lucrative business.

All in all it was an interesting experience, but after a few weeks I was ready for the familiar foods from home! My main motivation to travel is not to eat - I travel to experience the culture, meet the people, watch the wildlife and to learn more about the many walks of life on our planet! Hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of the cuisine of Indonesia.

Bon Apetit!



Jan