Indonesia consists of more than 17,000 islands with various ethnic groups such as Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Minang, Betawi, Bugis, Batak, and many more. Each ethnic group has its own traditional dishes.
With its enormous geographic and cultural diversity, Indonesian cuisine is rich in variety and taste.
For example : Sumatran dishes are influenced by Indian and Chinese culture. Javanese cuisine is strongly influenced by the island’s traditional kingdoms and is also referred to as royal cuisine. It is relatively milder in flavor.
Balinese food leans more towards hindu religous beliefs. Beef is very rarely used whilst pork is more common.West Nusa Tenggara (Lombok) cuisine is a mixture of cuisines with Hindu religious influence along with a touch of Dutch influence in taste.”
The cuisine from Kalimantan(Borneo Island), has a delicious array of seafood, Chinese influence(soy, noodles, pork) and the indegenous Dayak influence of herbs and spices ingredients can be found here.
It seems that every Indonesian is passionate about about their food, to the point that they will often fight to establish which dish originated where.
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