1. Ketoprak

Ketoprak Jakarta consists of lontong (rice steamed in a banana leaf), tofu, sliced cabbage, mihun (thin rice noodles), sprouts, chips and a sauce made from ground peanut and palm sugar made into a thick paste, mixed with chilli, salt, garlic and also sweet soybean ketchup. It is sold in individual portions from small stalls or carts along the street. Customers may request that the dish be mild, medium or spicy. The price is about IDR 5.000 to 10.000 according to ingredients included.^[1]

Ketoprak is a typical street-food/dish. It was originally popular around the Jakarta area but has spread throughout Java. It is nearly similar to Lotek and Karedok from West Java, Gado-gado from Jakarta and also Pecel from Central Java, although the ingredients in the peanut sauces are different. Gado-gado and Karedok use only brown sugar for sweetening, but sweet soy sauce is used for additional sweetener in ketoprak, and garlic is added. The seller prepares the ingredients at home and mixes them in front of the customers as they place their orders.

2. Bakso

Bakso or baso is Indonesian meatball or meat paste made from beef surimi and is similar in texture to the Chinese beef ball,fish ball, or pork ball.^[1] Bakso is commonly made from beef with a small quantity of tapioca flour, however bakso can also be made from other ingredients, such as chicken, fish, or shrimp. Bakso are usually served in a bowl of beef broth, with yellownoodles, bihun (rice vermicelli), salted vegetables, tofu, egg (wrapped within bakso), Chinese green cabbage, bean sprout,siomay or steamed meat dumpling, and crisp wonton, sprinkled with fried shallots and celery. Bakso can be found all across Indonesia; from the traveling cart street vendors to restaurants. Today various types of ready to cook bakso also available asfrozen food commonly sold in supermarkets in Indonesia. Slices of bakso often used and mixed as compliments in mi goreng,nasi goreng, or cap cai recipes.

Unlike other meatball recipes, bakso has a consistent firm, dense, homogeneous texture due to the polymerization of myosin in the beef surimi.

3. Satay

Satay of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce.^[1] Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are often used. These are grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings.

Satay originated in Java, Indonesia.^[2] It is available almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish.^[3] It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Thailand, as well as in Suriname and the Netherlands, as Indonesia and Suriname are former Dutch colonies.

Satay is a very popular delicacy in Indonesia; the country's diverse ethnic groups' culinary arts (see Indonesian cuisine) have produced a wide variety of satays. In Indonesia, satay can be obtained from a travelling satay vendor, from a street-side tent-restaurant, in an upper-class restaurant, or during traditional celebration feasts. In Malaysia, satay is a popular dish—especially during celebrations—and can be found throughout the country.

4. Pempek

Pempek, mpek-mpek or empek-empek is a savoury fishcake delicacy from Palembang,^[1] Indonesia, made of fish andtapioca. Pempek is served with yellow noodles and a dark, rich sweet and sour sauce called kuah cuka or kuah cuko (lit.vinegar sauce).

Origin

Pempek is the best-known of Palembang's dishes.^[2] Its origin is undoubtly Palembang, however the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. According to local tradition, around the 16th century there was an old Chinese immigrant who lived near the Musi river. He noticed an abundance of fish caught by the local fishermen. In the Sumatran tropical climate, before the invention of refrigeration technology, most of these unsold leftover fish decayed and were wasted. The indigenous people, however had limited knowledge and techniques for processing fish. During that period, most of the indigenous people simply grilled, fried or boiled their fish instead of adding other ingredients to make new dishes. The old Chinese man mixed in some tapioca and other spices, which he then sold around the village on his cart. The people referred to this old man as 'pek-apek, where apek is a Chinese slang word to call an old man. The food is known today as empek-empek or pempek.

Another theory suggests that pempek was a Palembang adaptation of Southern Chinese ngo hiang or kekkian (fish slice) as asurimi (魚漿, yújiāng) based food. But instead of being served in soup or plainly fried, pempek is notable for its spicy palm sugar-vinegar based sauce.

5. Sayur asem

Sayur asem or sayur asam is a popular Indonesian tamarind dish. Common ingredients are peanuts, young jackfruit, melinjo,bilimbi, chayote, long beans, all cooked in tamarind-based soups and sometimes enriched with beef stock. Quite often, the recipe also includes corn.

The origin of the dish can be traced to Sundanese people of West Java, Banten and Jakarta region. It is well-known belongs within Sundanese cuisine and Betawi daily diet. Several variations exist including sayur asem Jakarta (a version from the Betawi people of Jakarta), sayur asem kangkung (a version which includes water spinach), sayur asem ikan asin (includes salted fish, usually snakehead murrel), and sayur asem kacang merah (consists of red beans and green beans in tamarind and beef stock). The Karo version of sayur asem is made using torch ginger buds and, more importantly, the sour-tasting seed pods.

The sweet and sour flavour of this dish is considered refreshing and very compatible with fried or grilled dishes, including fishand lalapan, a kind of vegetable salad usually raw but can also be cooked, and is usually eaten with sambal terasi.