The Indonesian diet is based upon rice. As my Indonesian friends say, "if there's no rice, there's no meal." Rain or shine, we eat rice three times a day. Sometimes its fried, sometimes its yellow, sometimes is wrapped in banana leaves, and sometimes is just steamed - but its always there, the essential foundation of every meal. The above plate is topped off with a mixture of cooked veggies to the right, and beef with potatoes on the left. Due to economic constraints, beef appears on our plate just about as often as the full moon appears in the night sky. Instead, we are usually nourished with protein from fish, chicken, or soybean products such as tofu.
The white swirly thing is called
kerupuk, a crispy crackerish creation made from cassava. Mixed in with the green beans is
tempe, a fermented soybean product.
The yellow sauce is called
gule, which adds flavor and spice to the otherwise bland rice. Another option to flavor rice is
sambal, a red chili sauce with a good kick to it. Food is usually eaten in one of two manners. 1) with a spoon in the right hand as the main "scooping" utensil and simultaneously a fork in the left as a "mixing" utensil. 2) with the right hand.
The Indonesian diet is based upon rice. As my Indonesian friends say, "if there's no rice, there's no meal." Rain or shine, we eat rice three times a day. Sometimes its fried, sometimes its yellow, sometimes is wrapped in banana leaves, and sometimes is just steamed - but its always there, the essential foundation of every meal. The above plate is topped off with a mixture of cooked veggies to the right, and beef with potatoes on the left. Due to economic constraints, beef appears on our plate just about as often as the full moon appears in the night sky. Instead, we are usually nourished with protein from fish, chicken, or soybean products such as tofu.
The white swirly thing is called kerupuk, a crispy crackerish creation made from cassava. Mixed in with the green beans is tempe, a fermented soybean product.
The yellow sauce is called gule, which adds flavor and spice to the otherwise bland rice. Another option to flavor rice is sambal, a red chili sauce with a good kick to it. Food is usually eaten in one of two manners. 1) with a spoon in the right hand as the main "scooping" utensil and simultaneously a fork in the left as a "mixing" utensil. 2) with the right hand. 