One of the most famous snacks in Indonesia is batagor, a fried fish dumpling served in a traditional spicy sauce. It has roots in the Chinese culinary tradition, which has left a trace on many Indonesian dishes. Although this famous snack is reminiscent of the more famous Chinese dumpling, its distinguishable characteristic is that it is fried, not steamed.
The most common fish used to make the dish is wahoo, but tuna, mackerel, and even prawns can also be used. Potatoes, tofu, or cabbage are also occasionally added to the dish. Batagor is the perfect snack because of the way it is served. When fried, the dumplings are cut into small bite-sized pieces and covered in peanut, soy, and chili sauce with a splash of lime juice.
MOST ICONIC Batagor
View moreMAIN INGREDIENTS
Pecel lele is a beloved Indonesian street food dish featuring deep-fried catfish (lele) served with sambal (spicy chili sauce), steamed rice, and fresh vegetables (lalapan). Originally popularized in Java, especially among Javanese roadside food stalls (warung lesehan), pecel lele has become a nationwide favorite for its affordability, bold flavor, and satisfying crunch.
Despite the word pecel traditionally referring to vegetables with peanut sauce (as in nasi pecel), in this dish, pecel simply denotes the serving style—fish with sambal and rice. The lele (catfish) is typically marinated with salt, garlic, and turmeric, then deep-fried whole until the skin becomes crispy and golden, while the flesh remains moist and flavorful.
MOST ICONIC Pecel lele
View moreSate kerang is a traditional dish originating from Surabaya, East Java. The dish consists of marinated mussels that are placed on bamboo skewers and grilled to perfection. The marinade usually consists of shallots, garlic, candlenuts, turmeric, ginger, coriander, grated coconut, chili peppers, oil, lime leaves, lemongrass, brown sugar, sweet soy sauce, and salt.
About five or six mussels are then placed on bamboo skewers and grilled until golden brown. Once done, sate kerang is often served with spicy soy sauce on the side.
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