Some Indonesian Cuisines

After CNNGo readers voted rendang the most delicious food in the world, we thought it was time to give Indonesia's culinary credentials some time in the limelight.

Here we run through a mouth-watering array of broth-soaked noodles, fiery curries, banana-wrapped fish and vegetable salads with sweet peanut dressing. Most of the recommended restaurants are in Jakarta, a magnet for Indonesians from all over the archipelago, who naturally brought their cuisine with them.

Sambal

1. Sambal

While technically more of a condiment, the chili-based sauce known as sambal is a staple at all Indonesian tables.

Dishes are not complete unless they have a hearty dollop of the stuff, a combination of chilies, sharp fermented shrimp paste, tangy lime juice, sugar and salt all pounded up with mortar and pestle.

So beloved is sambal, some restaurants have made it their main attraction, with options that include young mango, mushroom and durian.

Try the sambal at Pedas Abis (Waroeng Spesial Sambal; Jl.RM.Said No.39 Solo) or fresh sambal mata at Le 

Satay

2. Satay

These tasty meat skewers cook up over coals so hot they need fans to waft the smoke away.

Whether it’s chicken, goat, mutton or rabbit, the scrappy morsels get marinated in turmeric, barbecued and then bathed in a hearty dose of peanut sauce.

Other nations now lay claim to sate, but Indonesians consider it a national dish conceived by street vendors and popularized by Arab traders.

Each vendor seeks distinction, but "sate madura" –- served with rice cakes (ketupat) and diced cucumber and onion -– is distinguished by its boat-shaped street carts.

Bakso

3. Bakso

A favorite among students, this savory meatball noodle soup gained international fame when U.S. President Barack Obama remembered it as one of his favorites during a visit to Jakarta last November.

It takes on many forms; meatballs –- springy or rubbery, the size of golf balls or bigger -– are made from chicken, beef, pork or some amorphous combination of them all. Sold mostly from pushcarts called kaki lima, bakso comes garnished with fried shallots, boiled egg and wontons.

For an authentic experience, grab a plastic stool near any sidewalk bakso stand or slurp away indoors at Bakso Lapangan Tembak Senayan, near Senayan City Mall.

Nasi Padang

4. Nasi padang

Singaporeans may say they can’t live without it, but nasi padang, named after its birth city in Sumatra, is 100 percent Indonesian.

Chose from among more than a dozen dishes -- goopy curries with floating fish heads or rubbery cow’s feet -- stacked up on your table. “It always looks sodead,” a friend once said.

Indeed, otak (brain) leaves little to the imagination. Chuck away the cutlery and dig in with your hands then wash the spice away with a sweet iced tea.

Try out any Sederhana or head for Garuda Nasi Padang; 

Source: travel.cnn