Indonesia

Recipes by the places recorded in their sources.

Indonesia

20 recipes

A small ivory ceramic bowl of thick pale yellow tempoyak, with a softly mashed, subtly fibrous texture, representing the fermented durian paste itself.

Tempoyak (fermented durian paste)

Durian flesh is mashed with salt and fermented in a covered container as a Malay condiment or cooking ingredient.

Indonesian Malay communities · Traditional method
· Fruit
Illustrative serving of se’i sapi: reddish-brown smoked beef strips with steamed rice, cooked greens and sambal.
High risk

Se'i (Timorese smoked meat)

Smoked meat of Timor and Rote in eastern Indonesia: salted strips of beef or pork cooked over kosambi-wood embers under fresh kosambi leaves, served warm with rice, sambal lu'at and greens.

Rote Ndao · Traditional method
· Meat
A small golden-brown Betawi mini crocodile bread with a glossy egg-washed crust, distinct head, tail and four legs, and scissor-marked scales.

Roti buaya mini: Hypeabis and Jessica Bakery version

Hypeabis’s mini version shapes a sweet yeast dough into one crocodile, fills its body and feet with chocolate sprinkles, and bakes it at 150°C.

Betawi (Jakarta) · Modern adaptation
· Grains and starches
Photograph of Roti gambang, chemically raised batch.

Roti gambang, chemically raised batch

A spiced, breadcrumb-enriched Indonesian loaf raised with baking soda and baking powder, shaped into ovals and baked with sesame seeds.

Jakarta
Grains and starches
Fresh sambal matah-inspired relish of finely sliced shallots, chillies, lemongrass and makrut lime leaf.

Sambal matah-inspired fresh aromatic relish

A small fresh relish of sliced shallots, chillies, lemongrass and lime leaf with lime juice, oil and salt, inspired by Balinese sambal matah.

Bali · Modern adaptation
· Condiments
Fresh Sambal kecap in a small ceramic dish: dark sweet soy with pounded red chilli and sliced shallot and garlic.

Sambal kecap

Sambal kecap is an Indonesian table condiment of fresh bird's eye chilli and shallot stirred into sweet soy sauce, served with grilled food, satay and tempe.

Indonesia
· Condiments
A thick golden martabak manis folded around chocolate sprinkles, grated cheese and condensed milk, showing its porous honeycomb crumb.

Martabak manis

Martabak manis is a thick Indonesian griddle pancake with a porous, honeycomb crumb, cooked under a lid and finished with butter and sweet toppings.

Indonesia · Modern adaptation
· Grains and starches
A shallow ceramic bowl of freshly chopped red and green chilli, tomato, shallot and scallion dabu-dabu, dressed with lime.

Manado raw chilli and tomato relish

Dabu-dabu is a raw North Sulawesi relish of chopped chillies, shallot, scallion and tomato, dressed with salt and lime juice or coconut oil.

Manado
Condiments
Indonesian gado-gado with cooked peanut sauce, vegetables, noodles, tofu and egg.
Elevated risk

Indonesian peanut sauce

A cooked peanut sauce of ground roasted peanuts, aromatics, shrimp paste and coconut cream, as made for gado-gado; pecel and Malaysian satay sauces are close relatives with different formulas.

Indonesia
· Condiments
A bowl of smooth cooked brick-red sambal terasi with a subtle oil sheen, with red chiles, shallots, garlic and toasted shrimp paste nearby.
Elevated risk

Sambal terasi (West Java)

This documented West Java sambal grinds cooked red and bird’s-eye chiles with garlic, shallots and fermented shrimp paste, then simmers the paste before serving.

West Java
· Condiments
Finished black oncom, a compact gray-brown peanut-cake ferment, shown whole and cut on a banana leaf.
High risk

Black oncom from defatted peanut cake

Black oncom is a mould-fermented cake made from defatted peanut cake, pressed to about 2 cm, steamed and then incubated for a day at ambient temperature.

West Java, Indonesia · Traditional method
· Legumes and seeds
Illustrative semisolid Indonesian tauco with softened soybeans; not a verified photograph of a specific regional batch.
Elevated risk

Tauco, Indonesian two-stage soybean paste

An Indonesian savoury soybean paste built in two stages: cooked beans and roasted flour carry a mould fermentation, then mature in salt brine into a thick, salty seasoning.

Indonesia · Traditional method
· Legumes and seeds
Small golden-brown fruit roti gambang buns with raisins, candied cherries and sesame.

Fruit roti gambang

An Indonesian palm-sugar and cinnamon quick bread with dried fruit and sesame.

Indonesia · Modern adaptation
· Grains and starches
Illustrative Javanese-style martabak telor parcel, pan-fried golden with a visible beef, egg and leek filling.

Murtabak

A Javanese-style Indonesian savoury parcel of thin rested wheat dough folded around curry-seasoned beef and egg, then cooked in an oiled skillet.

Java · Modern method
· Grains and starches
Plain, firm soybean tempeh cake with whole split soybeans evenly bound by white mycelium, served on a pale ceramic plate.
High risk

Soybean tempeh with a packet starter

A two-cup soybean batch uses one Cultures for Health tempeh starter packet and vinegar. The supplier describes dehulling, a thin vented layer, controlled early incubation and attention to self-heating; it is not a validated home process.

Java · Modern adaptation
· Legumes and seeds
Jar of pale cempedak inner-rind pieces preserved in liquid, with two pieces outside; editorial image, not a photograph of a specific batch.

Mandai (fermented cempedak rind)

Cempedak inner rind is cut, salted and submerged in water for a short spontaneous fermentation used in Kalimantan home cooking.

Kalimantan, Indonesia · Modern method
· Fruit
Indonesian sayur asin: olive-green fermented mustard leaves and intact pale stems in a shallow white bowl.

Sayur asin

Indonesian salted mustard cabbage, wilted, rubbed with 2.5 to 5% salt by weight, and fermented covered in boiled-rice liquid.

Indonesia · Traditional method
· Vegetables
Illustrative red oncom cake from pressed soy pulp, with an orange-red Neurospora-colored surface and pale okara interior; generalized image of the published experimental formulation, not a verified batch.
Elevated risk

Red oncom from okara with Neurospora starter

Red oncom is a West Javanese cake fermented from pressed soy pulp with a Neurospora starter, a little tapioca starch and vinegar. It is a different food from black oncom, made on another substrate with another mould.

West Java, Indonesia · Modern method
· Legumes and seeds