With 6,000 islands, there are many regional specialties, but wherever you are in Indonesia, most meals, including breakfast, are based around rice.
Literally meaning "fried rice", is considered the national dish of Indonesia and can be found everywhere from street hawker carts to dinner parties or restaurants. It is a meal of stir-fried rice spiced with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shallot, garlic, tamarind and chilli and accompanied by other ingredients, mainly egg, chicken, prawns or salted dried fish.
Sambals are also a cornerstone of the cuisine and these chilli-based condiments may be either freshly made or store-bought. There are many types of sambals, all of which combine a variety of chilli peppers with different combinations of spices, fruits or vegetables.
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Traditional sambal terasi served on stone mortar with garlic and lime. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Midori/CC BY 3.0
