Tracing the root of Indonesia history, Indonesia cuisine is strongly influenced by India, the Middle East, China and Europe.  Before the Dutch colonised the islands,  the Spanish and Portuguese traders introduced New World products to Indonesia.

Indonesia’s main staple is rice. Sumatran cuisine which features the likes of curried meat and vegetable is a reflection from the Middle Eastern and Indian influence.   While the indigenous people of Indonesia introduced Javanese cuisine, ingredients used in its Chinese cuisine include noodles meat balls and lumpia.

Some of Indonesia popular dishes such as satay, beef rendang and sambal are also found in other parts of Asia . Tempe, a local adaptation of soy-based fermented is recognised as a Javanese invention, are commonly used in Indonesia cuisine.

Since ancient times, spices have become an integral part of Indonesia cuisine and are commonly used as a base for many Indonesia cuisines. Spices such as pala (nutmeg) and cengkeh (clove) are native to Indonesia while spices from India ranged from black pepper, lemongrass, shallot, tamarind, candlenut and ginger. Coconut milk is another ingredient that is widely used in Indonesian dishes such as rendang, soto, sayur lodeh, opor adam and popular desserts like cendol and doger.