15 Delightful Traditional Indonesian Appetizers

Hello again friends, after talking about some delicious stuff in Indonesia, we want to tell you again about the important thing to eat during your eating session, the traditional Indonesian appetizers. Well, even though we usually eat the main dish first and then continuing to eat the dessert after that. We don’t really know well about the actual appetizers, it’s like our own habit.

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But, the thing you should notice is we prefer to call those appetizers as the “small” meals. Usually they have so much colorful flavor and so good, a really god choice before start chewing the main dish. So, in here we want to tell you about 15 of them, included on the list of traditional Indonesian appetizers. Let’s check all of them out !

1. Batagor

Of course, we put the famous one on top, which is Batagor. Yes,batagor is like the Indonesians best friend. You can easily find them on the vendors that selling them with their batagor wagon. The wagon itself is also very noticeable, because you can see the word “Batagor” on it.

Usually people in here always buy more and more of them, even some people orderit twice. Kids, adults, teenagers, all of them love this traditional “appetizer”. With such a cheap price and very delicious taste complete with peanut sauce, this one is not missable.

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2. Siomay

In the second place we have the brother of Batagor, which is called Siomay. Like the batagor vendors, you can also notice the sellers of siomay so easily by their wagon. One thing to notice here, the sellers will always shout “Siomay” when travelling around.

Not like the Batagor that always packed in plastic to eat it, this Siomay always eaten in a plate. Don’t worry if you happen to not having a plate around you when ordering this food, the sellers will gladly serve you with their own plates.

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3. Bakwan

The next is Bakwan, the best companion when eating the Bakso. You know Bakso, right? This really famous food of Indonesia has something to eat first. That’s Bakwan. Usually there’s two kinds of Bakwan, the dry version or the wet version. The best solution is try both of them.

Well, the most famous Bakwan you can find in Indonesia is of course the Bakwan of Malang city. With its famous Bakso, it ain’t complete without the accompaniment of the Bakwan itself. With sucha  low price, you can also eat it during your relaxation time in evening.

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4. Lentho

On the fourth place, we have our pal right here called Lentho. Maybe in some areas, this kind of appetizer is rarely found. But in the area of Central Java, or Solo specifically, you can not miss this delicious appetizer.

The people of Solo usually eat this during their calm time, like when watching movies at home, reading, or just laying down, gazing to the horizon while eating Lentho. This food is actually small, but really good. You can try two or three or more if you want.

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5. Lumpia

Of course, we can’t forget the Lumpia. In the old days, you can find those Lumpia sellers on a train. That’s great, because in the perfect situation of waiting the arrival and just seeing the scenery around, this Lumpia is a perfect companion.

Inside Lumpia, you can find so many stuff, ranging from vegetables, and also the chicken meat. So this appetizer is perfect for either vegetarian or not, because you can choose so many kinds of Lumpia that available in these days. Even some people add some mayonnaise and other good stuff inside.

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6. Martabak

Next, is Martabak. In Indonesia, you will easily find the Martabak sellers during night time only. Well there’s some in the day and evening, but not as much as in the night. Also, some restaurants serve this food as an appetizer, with the smaller portion of couse.

You can choose two kinds of Martabak, there’s Martabak Manis (Sweet Martabak), or Martabak Telor (Egg Martabak). All of them are great to try, especially the “special version” of them. In the usual Martabak sellers, the portion is really fulfilling, great stuff in the night.

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7. Serabi

The next one we have Serabi. There’s some variations of Serabi, even some areas in Indonesia have their own unique Serabi that really different from the other areas. The taste is always the same though, which is sweet and tasteful.

But even though the tse is the same, some of them have different form. Of course, with those different forms, come different prices. But you can always pick the cheapest one, the really simple one that you can find in the traditional market.

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8. Pastel

After the Serabi, we have Pastel with us. Some of you maybe already know about this famous appetizer. The reason is, you can find this Pastel so easily in every meal box in every event in Indonesia. Well you can check it if you don’t believe us.

Inside the Pastel, you can find the delicious vegetables and really crispy skin. That’s a great combination of a meal right there. One Pastel is not enough for the whole evening, you should eat more of them.

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9. Risoles

We’ve told you about the Lumpia on the paragraphs above, right? Well know is the time to tell you more about the Risoles, the food that look almost the same as Lumpia. The things is, this food is really great too, just like the Lumpia.

The main different to notice is, the skin. The skin of Lumpia is really dry and crispy, not like this Risoles that has the skin that looks like a nugget. It has the crumbles like the nuggets, you know. That’s why some people really love it, because of the skin, and the deliciousness inside.

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10. Tahu Goreng / Fried Tofu

Well, we can’t have the chill evening without having some meals, right? This fried tofu is a great solution, especially when combined with the hot sauce. The price of the tofu itself is so cheap, more cheaper than the hot sauce itself.

Usually people will buy the plastic full of fried tofu, and then eat them with the additional drinks like coffee or tea. After that, there will be a great calm evening to spend. With the accompaniment of friends, it’ll be perfect.

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11. Gulali

This one is little different form the others, because it’s more like a sweet than a food. Well, nothing wrong with using some candies for your appetizer, right? Well here’s one for you. Gulali is like the important thing from childhood.

Some people will always remember this candy, till the end of time. This Gulali is so precious for the Indonesian adults or young-adults, because it contains a lot of memories. With the form of animals and the other unique things, this Gulali will blow you to your childhood.

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12. Cireng

This is the brother of Cilok, Cireng. Not like the Cilok that served in a hot ad sturdy form, this Cireng has drier form because it’s cooked first before ready to serve. You can combine this stuff with many sauce. Even some soy sauce will be great combination.

You can find this food easily in front of the schools in Indonesia, especially the elementary schools. There will be some cireng sellers right there, usually selling both batagor and cireng. It’s really good.

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13. The Egg Satay

If you don’t what is this stuff, then let me tell you. This really delicious egg sauce is also one of the kids foods that sold in front of their school. Some teenagers also come by and buy them for eat at home. It’ll be great as an appetizer before eating your main dish.

Usually the sellers will serve it in a plastic, filled with sauce, either the hot one or not. You should pay some money before getting it of course, it’s so cheap. With only one sheet of Rp10.000,-. You can get much of it.

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14. Asinan / Pickles

Of course, in almost every foods in Indonesia, there will be some pickles. Well if the pickles in another country like America look more like a cucumber with the additional “sauce”, in Indonesia the pickles come with so many varieties.

All of them really great to eat first to “wash” your mouth before tasting the food after that. The most tasty pickles out there in Indonesia is the Jakarta pickles. It feels somewhat refreshing and so eye opening.

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• Street Food in Jakarta
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15. Chicken Corn Soup

Last, but the best is the Chicken Corn Soup. If you imagine this as the cream soup or just the chicken soup you’ve tasted before, then you’re 70% wrong here. In this special soup, you can taste the sweet and also the nice punch from the chicken.

Well, to find it you must look for the sellers that established their own restaurants out there. You can order one first to test it, and more after that. Well, the taste of it is so wonderful, even for us Indonesian people who can always eat this.

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Well that’s our list of top 15 traditional Indonesian appetizers for you to eat. All of them can be found so easily around your place, even some of them are always sold by the street vendors all the time. Also, the good thing here is, the price. The prices you must pay for all of them are always so affordable. By those benefits, you must try all of them during your visit in Indonesia !