Indonesia is a unique country with multiethnic and multicultural people. The varieties of traditional foods were mainly caused by the influence of natural environment, religions, and cultures (such as Indian, Chinese, Arabic, Dutch and Portuguese) for hundred years. Amongst the popular Indonesian’s strange cuisine recipes is Asinan Betawi (Mixed Sweet and Sour Salad, Jakarta Style)

Traditional Foods

Besides of natural beauty, Indonesia is rich also on the variety of “strange” traditional foods. Some of these strange traditional foods have become a national food because of the mobility of the people in the past itself.

As you may also notice, because of this mobility, a specific food from a region has spread out and becomes a traditional food for other region with different name and ingredients. These traditional foods have enriched the variety of national food.

Asinan Betawi (Mixed Sweet and Sour Salad, Jakarta Style)

Ingredients

• 250 g cucumber, cut into small pieces
• 400 g cabbage, finely sliced
• 400 g carrots, shredded or thinly sliced
• 200 g bean sprouts
• 400 g lettuce, shredded
• 400 g tofu, steamed and cut into small pieces
• 400 g pineapple, cut into pieces
• Noodle crackers, fried
• 100 g sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sliced red chilies, blended
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 200 ml boiled water
• 50 g peanuts
• 25 g dried shrimps
• 2 tbsp sliced red chilies
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 200 ml boiled water

Preparation

1. To make the sauce: Blend peanuts, red chilies, and dried shrimps into a paste. Add sugar, salt, and water into the paste, set aside.
2. To make the marinade: put sugar, salt, red chilies, vinegar, and water in a bowl, mix together
3. Put cucumber, cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, tofu, and pineapple into the marinade mixture, let stand for 15 minutes, drain
4. In a salad bowl, arrange lettuce, marinated vegetables, and tofu on top. Pour in the peanut sauce. Serve with fried noodle crackers.

*Serves : 15

*One serving : 120 Calories

Factors Make the Food Acceptable

There are some factors that make the foods acceptable for people from all over the world:

Quality of the foods and cookeries. The way the foods presented needs to be improved to inspire the appetites. The popularity of the foods created “the national taste and standard” and “the national taste and standard” can make a consistent taste that important for foreigners.

Enjoy the food of the Top 10 – Indonesian’s Strange Cuisine Recipes and bon appetite!!