Imagine an island seven degrees south of the equator, blessed with rich volcanic soil, where broad coastal plains rise to the hills and a chain of mystical 3,000-metre peaks. An island roughly the size of Greece, of sprawling cities, endless rice fields, and raw, otherworldly landscapes where you might find boiling lakes and plumes of steam billowing from the earth. This island is known as Java, and it is a food-lover’s paradise.
The population of Java, a staggering 145 million at the last count, is largely divided between three ethnic groups: the Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese, each with their own ways of cooking. This post concentrates on the cuisine of Central Java and Yogyakarta, for that is where Bama and I spent three weeks at the start of our recent Spice Odyssey.
What is the character of Javanese food? I would describe it as the buttery taste of candlenut, the earthy notes of turmeric, nutmeg, cumin and coriander seed; the fragrance of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, lemon basil, ginger and galangal, blended with the sharp tang of garlic and shallot; the fiery jolt of bird’s eye chillies; and the creaminess of coconut milk. There is also one particular trait that sets it apart from Indonesia’s other regional cuisines. While the Sundanese like to eat fresh leaves, the Javanese penchant for sweetness is expressed in the liberal use of palm sugar and kecap manis, a syrupy soy sauce reminiscent of treacle.
Apart from the popularity of soy sauce, I spot a few other Chinese influences. In the highlands of Dieng – accompanied by fellow travel bloggers Bart and Badai – Bama and I sample mie ongklok, a specialty of nearby Wonosobo. It consists of noodles, cabbage and chopped chives in a thick, starchy sauce, served with beef sate. The noodles are boiled with the help of a woven bamboo basket called ongklok, hence the name. For dinner near the ancient Buddhist temple of Borobudur, we try kupat tahu – a bowl of rice dumplings, fried tofu and bean sprouts in peanut sauce.
In Yogyakarta, or Jogja for short, the four of us visit the restaurant of Bale Raos for a taste of royal cuisine. The two standouts are favourites of the current dynasty’s seventh sultan: urip-urip gulung, grilled catfish rolls in turmeric gravy; and sanggar, thick slices of spiced beef slathered in coconut milk before grilling.
After dinner, we wait an hour in line for bungkus (takeout) at Gudeg Pawon, a warung converted from a typical Javanese house. Jogja’s signature dish of gudeg – stewed young jackfruit – will be tomorrow’s pre-dawn breakfast. The heat of the kitchen fills the air, and I can feel the beads of sweat forming on my face and arms. The line moves at a snail’s pace, past a vat of jackfruit stew simmering away on a simple firewood stove. When it is finally our turn to be served, the attendants heap gudeg, chicken and boiled egg on a portion of rice, deftly wrapping the whole ensemble in banana leaf and brown paper.
In Solo – formally known as Surakarta – Bama and I return each night to the street stalls at Galabo to sample the local delicacies. We bite into succulent sate buntel, mutton satay covered in fat and drizzled in kecap manis, and admire the resourcefulness of the “poor man’s dish” called tengkleng, a delicious heap of goat ribs and offal in soup. I find a worthy addition to my list of favourite Indonesian dishes in tongseng, a curry-like mutton stew with vegetables and the distinctive touch of kecap manis.
We also try nasi liwet tempong, rice cooked in coconut milk and chicken broth, topped with egg, sliced vegetables and chicken thigh; and order a side of cabuk rambak – rice dumplings (ketupat), peanut sauce and a spicy-sweet mystery paste.
Iya, saya kangen masakan khas Jawa!
Awesomeee.. As usual, I like the way you describe it, James!
Makasih, Wien! I can’t wait till my next trip to Indonesia.
Terima kasih kembali James. When will you come back to Indonesia?
Hopefully sometime this year, Wien. I was thinking of coming again after Imlek but that doesn’t look very likely now. We’ll see!
Gosh, I’m glad I’m still in Semarang when this post comes. 🙂 Come again to Java, James. My mother says there are still many dishes you haven’t tried.
With your mom’s incredible cooking, I’m jealous that you’re in Semarang. 🙂 I wish I could fit in another trip after Chinese New Year… I am missing Javanese food so much! It doesn’t help that so few of my favourite dishes are available in Hong Kong.
I am missing Indonesian food so much and can’t wait till I come home next month.
Hope you enjoyed all those foods..
Sorry about that, Nurul. 🙂 I think masakan khas Jawa is my favourite food in the world – I love sweet things and complex flavours so it’s perfect for me.
I’am absolutely sure about that, since Sego Gandul, Iwak Pe, and Mangut are some of my favourite Javanese dishes as well. They remind me to my childhood-live in Semarang and Kudus.
Agree with you, Jateng has the best food!
Jadi mau ke Indonesia, Imlek ini James?
I am sure about that too. Your article about Banda makes me want to visit it soon.
Your spectacular photos and descriptions have all our mouths watering! The spice blends are especially intriguing to me – I would love to taste those.
I learned so much about spices in Java. The best part was watching Bama’s mother cook, and then tasting her dishes afterwards! That experience has made a huge impact on my own cooking – just today I made fried rice with turmeric, nutmeg, pepper, garlic and shallot.
My mouth is watering. I loved the food in Java and hopefully I’ll get back one of these days. Your feature shot of the satay is particularly tantalizing.
That shot is one of my favourite food pictures from Indonesia – I think the familiarity of satay made it an easy choice for the feature image. Guess I am pretty lucky to live just 4 hours away by plane… I’d love to go back sometime this year.
I could hop on a plane right now the effect of your pictures makes my mouth water … oh all that spiceyness; what a treat!
I feel the same way! We have some good restaurants here but they are often expensive and lack the dishes I miss the most. It’s strange how Indonesian food can remain so underrated while Thai and Vietnamese are so popular around the world.
The first time I had Indonesian food was a few months ago when I was in Amsterdam! I’m sure there must be at least one in the DC metro area, so I’ll have to find it.
That would be really interesting – and a great way to combat the extreme winter weather these days!
The way you described the foods and flavors had my mouth watering! Being a vegetarian, though, I wonder if I would find a lot of Indonesian/Javanese dishes to try? By the way, I was just reading that jackfruit is the new darling here in the U.S.; lots of chefs are using it these days. I just had some for the first time in Nicaragua!
Actually yes, although vegetarianism isn’t very common in Java, there are plenty of fabulous vegetarian dishes. Gado-gado and pecel are perhaps the most famous; both consist of mixed vegetables in peanut sauce. You can also have stewed young jackfruit without the sides of chicken and egg.
One of my favourites is lontong sayur, which is coconut milk and vegetables with rice steamed in banana leaf. You’ll also find lots of tofu and a local soybean product called tempe. I especially love tempe when it’s fried in sweetened soy sauce.
I didn’t know that jackfruit was catching on in the U.S. – I’ve always associated it with dessert! It is perfect in a shake or with ice cream.
OK – so I certainly won’t starve to death over there! Yum!
All looks so delicious but I’m a bit wary of so many chillies!
Funny thing is, that dish with all the chillies wasn’t nearly as spicy as I imagined! It was largely because they were cooked whole instead of being ground into the sauce. If that had happened I’m sure my taste buds would be completely overwhelmed.
Completely salivating!! Love how you described the character of the cuisine. I seriously miss tahu… cannot get anything even close to the way it is prepared in Java here in India.
Actually, I don’t recall having tahu at all (or any other soy products) during our month in India. But Keralan food really reminded me and Bama of Indonesian… it must have been the similar spice blends and their love of coconut milk!
I get the association between some Kerela cuisine and Indo too. But you can see now why I miss tahu??
I’m glad I waited until I was full to read this or I’d have stopped halfway to go eat. That mangut looks pretty awesome – and spicy. Was it as fiery as it looks?
That nasi kuding with all the sides looks like a personal buffet.
The mangut was spicy, but not overwhelming at all. I think the creaminess of the coconut milk balanced out the chillies.
I loved the nasi kuning – so much effort was put into cooking it and I felt it was way more special than a run of the mill birthday cake!
It really was! I definitely miss all the spices and flavours.
You’re welcome. 🙂 I love Indonesia and Jateng.
Cool, I had a really great time there. Solo has so much culture and history.
What an amazing variety, and yet, I am not familiar with a single one of these dishes! I even had to Google candlenut! The Mangut looks particularly delicious. Strange how the South East Asian culinary scene has been dominated by Thai and to some extent Vietnamese cuisine. We much preferred Lao and Burmese. And from your mouthwatering account, I think Indonesian could easily best them all.
Bama and I felt that the food on India’s west coast had strong similarities with Indonesian, so I am sure you and Ravi will enjoy it as much as I do. The lack of exposure compared to Thai and Vietnamese might have something to do with Thailand’s long-standing appeal as a tourist destination and the spread of a large diaspora (Vietnam). That said, Indonesian food seems to be very popular in the Netherlands where roughly 1.8 million people are of Indonesian descent. It will be interesting to go on a Dutch-Indonesian food tour when I get to Amsterdam!
James your food photography is incredible. I think I shall come over for some lessons! I enjoyed seeing the dishes very much however moreso your eloquent description of the delicious dishes. Bama’s Mom sounds like quite the extraordinary and generous cook!
Thank you so much, Sue! It takes a lot of practice, the right kind of light (natural is the best) and the advice of someone with more experience – in my case, Bama. His mom is really a superb chef. I learned so much watching her cook and she even gave me the recipe to one of her signature dishes!
Thank you so much, Randall! 🙂 May you live to the fullest this Year of the Fire Monkey – here’s to another 12 months of new adventures and happy memories. 🙂 祝你身壯力健, 心想事成!
Thank you James, your celebration of Javanese food is so heartfelt ! Lapar !
Ah, I don’t have the answer for that one. 🙂 I guess it was partially down to perfect timing – we were travelling around Idul Fitri and Bama’s family decided to welcome me into their home for the festive season.
Wow I love your photos and the descriptions of regional food which are so descriptive that I am feeling hungry reading your beautiful post. How lucky you are to have home made food made for you. What a wonderful treat! I love hr photo of Bama’s mother cooking chills and the finished product.
Thanks Peta! There is really nothing like home-cooked food. It was such a privilege to be invited to the family home by Bama’s parents. I learned so much about Javanese cooking from his mother.
Say what that’s a perfect coincidence!
I have never heard of Java and this post is so informative! I love learning about new cultures’ foods and man, do these ever look delicious. Thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome! Javanese food isn’t well known outside Indonesia but I hope that begins to change in the next few years – it deserves so much more recognition!
It certainly looks like it needs more recognition! Some amazing stuff there!!!
So intersted with your review about Javanese Food.
Indonesian food is very unique you also can try Pempek (cake fish originaly from Palembang, South Sumatera), Gudeg (Jogja Traditional Food), Tekwan, Celimpungan, Model, Laksan, Bakmie, Martabak and also others traditional food. The most many delicious food is from Palembang.
Thank you for commenting, Putri. Gudeg is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes – now that I live in Jakarta I have it fairly often these days. Back in early 2015 my best friend and I went on a short trip to Palembang; trying different kinds of pempek (like kapal selam) was a highlight, and I also recommend the local specialty mie celor.