Indonesian cooking, made simple enough to cook tonight
Citarasa Nusantara is a recipe collection for anyone who loves the deep, layered flavours of Indonesian and Southeast Asian food but wants instructions that actually work in a normal kitchen.
Every recipe here was tested in a home kitchen, not a restaurant. That means ingredients you can buy at an Asian grocer or online, pan sizes that fit a normal stove, and timings written for a cook who is doing three things at once. The collection now includes eighteen recipes plus pantry and technique guides.
Popular classics
Nasi Goreng
Indonesian fried rice built on day-old rice, a shrimp paste base and the right order of ingredients.
Beef Rendang
Spice paste, coconut milk reduced to a dark dry curry, and the exact point to stop cooking.
Soto Ayam
Turmeric-gold Indonesian chicken soup with vermicelli, beansprouts, egg and fried shallots.
Gado-Gado
Blanched vegetables, tofu and tempeh under a warm peanut dressing.
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Charcoal-style chicken satay with a savoury peanut sauce.
More from the kitchen
Klepon
Glutinous rice balls filled with molten palm sugar and rolled in coconut.
Curry Laksa
Coconut curry noodle soup with prawns, tofu puffs and a chilli paste base.
Sambal Oelek
Raw chilli paste: four ingredients, five minutes.
Nasi Lemak
Coconut rice with sambal, cucumber, peanuts and egg — the Malay classic written for a home stove.
Mie Goreng
Indonesian fried noodles with kecap manis, garlic-shallot base, egg and greens — wok-hot in minutes.
Ayam Bakar
Indonesian grilled chicken lacquered with sweet soy spice paste — sticky, smoky, home-grill friendly.
Bakso
Indonesian beef meatball soup with clear broth, noodles and greens — springy balls, clean stock.
Opor Ayam
Gentle Javanese chicken braise in spiced coconut milk — pale, aromatic, built for rice and ketupat.
All recipes →
See the full collection in one place.
Learn the pantry
Indonesian Pantry Essentials
Fifteen ingredients that make Indonesian cooking possible.
Kecap Manis Guide
What sweet soy sauce is and how to use it.
Bumbu: the spice paste
Why almost every dish starts with a paste.
Regional Indonesian Cooking
Padang, Javanese, Balinese and Peranakan kitchens.
How these recipes are written
Indonesian home cooking is forgiving. Recipes vary from island to island and from one family to the next, so treat every quantity here as a starting point. What matters is the technique: when the spice paste is ready, how far the coconut milk is reduced, and when to stop cooking.
Where a shortcut is genuinely harmless, it is noted. Where it is not, it is flagged. If a recipe has a gap or a step that does not work in your kitchen, the contact page is open.