Indonesian pecel may refer to a fragrant peanut sauce or a combination of the sauce and various vegetables, when it is commonly referred to as a salad. The base of the sauce is prepared with roasted peanuts and spices that typically include chili peppers, palm sugar, garlic, tamarind juice, shrimp paste, kaffir lime leaves, salt, and kencur, an aromatic ginger variety.
Usually associated with Java, the sauce is characterized by its distinctive combination of sweet and spicy flavors. When served with rice, the dish goes under the name nasi pecel.
MOST ICONIC Pecel
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Ketoprak is a traditional street food dish that's often described as tofu salad. It's made with a combination of fried tofu, steamed rice cakes, rice vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, cabbage, and cucumbers. The combination is served in peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce (kecap manis).
It's usually topped with fried shallots and krupuk. The dish can be found at numerous ketoprak food carts throughout Jakarta, although there is still an ongoing debate about the origin of the dish – some claim that it was first made in Cirebon because the majority of street food vendors come from Cirebon.
Gado-gado is an Indonesian version of a mixed salad. It usually consists of a variety of vegetables, eggs, tempeh, and tofu. The vegetables are usually just slightly boiled, tossed with a nutty sauce, then completed with the addition of crispy prawn crackers.
The sauce was traditionally made with cashews, but due to lower price and availability, peanuts are more frequent today. The dish is a true representative of Indonesian street food, and it has been present in the Indonesian culture since the 16th century.
MOST ICONIC Gado-gado
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Rujak cingur is one of many versions of Indonesian rujak, a fruit salad which consists of different tropical fruits, usually served with a spicy and sweet dressing. Rujak cingur is a unique variety, because apart from fruits, it also incorporates vegetables and a rare ingredient – animal muzzle.
Traditionally, beef or buffalo muzzle is used in rujak cingur, while fruits and vegetables are served boiled or raw. The dish is assembled and covered with generous amounts of spicy Indonesian dressing made with shrimp paste, peanuts, sugar, and chili.
MOST ICONIC Rujak cingur
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Selat solo is an Indonesian dish believed to have originated as a European salad that’s been adapted to Javanese tastes. It hails from Solo in Central Java, hence the name. The dish is made with a combination of beef tenderloin, onions, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar, shallots, cloves, nutmeg, hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, potatoes, and green beans.
The vegetables and eggs are layered in plate, the meat is then placed over them, and the watery soup is poured over the meat. The dish is traditionally served with a bit of mayonnaise on the side and can be categorized as a main meat dish, a salad, and a soup.
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Karedok is the traditional Indonesian version of a vegetable salad. This simple and healthy dish calls for fresh and raw ingredients which are sliced and served with a traditional peanut sauce. The most common vegetables in karedok include cucumbers, cabbage, green beans, Thai basil, bean sprouts, and eggplant, however, other vegetables can be used as well.
The sauce is made by grinding fried peanuts together with salt, palm sugar, and chili. The flavor of the sauce can be adjusted with other ingredients such as shrimp paste or garlic. Due to the usage of peanut sauce, karedok is often compared with another Indonesian specialty, gado-gado, but it is still distinguished by the usage of only raw ingredients.
MOST ICONIC Karedok
View moreUrap or urap sayur (Bali) or urab is a traditional salad that's commonly associated with Java. The salad is made with a combination of steamed or boiled vegetables and spiced grated coconut topping. The vegetables included in urap are usually water spinach, bean sprouts, spinach, papaya leaves, cassava leaves, green beans, and cabbage.
The topping is prepared by cooking grated coconut with aromatic herbs and spices such as kaffir lime leaves, coconut sugar, tamarind, chili peppers, galangal, shallots, and garlic. Urap is typically served as an accompaniment to other dishes such as nasi kuning, ayam goreng, ayam penyet, and nasi tumpang.
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Lalap or lalab is a traditional salad originating from West Java. Although there is no set recipe for the salad, it's often made with raw vegetables such as tomatoes, lemon basil, green eggplants, cucumbers, cabbage, and long beans, along with blanched or boiled chayote, spinach, papaya leaves, water spinach, and cassava leaves.
The salad is served cold or at room temperature, and it's always accompanied by sambal terasi dipping sauce. Lalap can also be served as a side dish with pepes, fried fish, and fried chicken.
Rujak petis is a traditional salad and a specialty of Ponorogo, East Java. This type of rujak is similar to rujak cingur, but it's meatless. The dish usually contains sliced mango, cucumbers, water spinach, jicama, kedondong (June plums), soybean sprouts, and tofu.
The ingredients are served in a dark sauce made from black fermented prawn paste called petis (hence the name of the dish), palm sugar, shallots, salt, and ground or crushed peanuts. Although this salad was traditionally served on banana leaf plates in the past, nowadays it's served on standard plates, and it's often topped with fried shallots.
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Rujak soto is a traditional salad originating from Banyuwangi, East Java. This type of rujak is often described as a cross between beef soto and rujak cingur. It often uses vegetables such as water spinach (kangkung) and bean sprouts, which are served with rice cakes and shrimp paste sauce.
Once prepared, soto soup is poured over the dish. It is believed that this version of rujak was created in 1975 by Usni Solihin.
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