In Indonesia, rice is the most important source of carbohydrate. Most Indonesians cannot eat without having white rice as their source of carb. Not only eating normal white rice with side dishes, actually in Indonesia, rice can also be transformed into different cuisines and is not only served as white rice with different side dishes.

There are so many rice dishes in Indonesia. But first, let me tell you that two of the main ingredients for preparing Indonesian cuisines are coconut milk (santan) and sweet dark soy sauce (kecap manis). Even if not all the dishes use these ingredients, you can find them quite often in many Indonesian cuisines. Now let me tell you three of the best rice dishes in Indonesia.

Fried Rice

This rice dish or what we also call as nasi goreng in our mother tongue, is one of the most preferred rice dishes in Indonesia. Moreover, not only in Indonesia, Indonesian fried rice has also been famous in the international cuisines. And what makes this fried rice Indonesian is the use of the sweet dark soy sauce as one of its ingredients.

Tumpeng

Having yellow colour and form like a cone are the main characteristics of this rice dish. Prepared with coconut milk and turmeric to make the rice yellow (with some other spices), this rice dish is served with side dishes and served during special occasions like important ceremonies or parties. However, I should add that Indonesian yellow rice can also be served on normal days when it is not shaped like tumpeng (cone).

Padang Rice

Originally coming from Padang, a city in Sumatra island in Indonesia, this is actually white rice served with special side dishes from the city. And most of the side dishes are usually prepared with coconut milk or santan. This is why I mentioned earlier that santan and kecap manis are very crucial in Indonesian cuisines.

Not only these three, Indonesians certainly have other delicious rice dishes. Nevertheless, let us focus on these three for this post and discuss some other on another post. So fellas, would you like to try and taste them? 😀