The Netherlands: a Mecca for Indonesian Cuisine

Compared to its Asian peers, Indonesian food is less popular worldwide than say Chinese or Thai.

Compared to its Asian peers, Indonesian food is less popular worldwide than say Chinese or Thai.

But not in one country in Europe – where there are more than 1,000 Indonesian restaurants, and also an online-directory of Indonesian cuisine.

The Netherlands even has a special event called The Indonesian Fair, a cultural event designed to introduce all things Indonesian to the international commnity and partciularly, the Dutch.

Food is one of the biggest hits, with one third of the space dedicated to Indonesian cuisine.

Of the 40 restaurants participtaing, the stall run by the Salero Minang Restaurant is one of the most popular. It sells Padang-style food, from the island of Sumatra, famous for its tasty and spicy dishes.

Erita Lubeek is the owner of the Netherland’s only authentic Padang-style restaurant called “Salero Minang”. Her family lives in the country for years now.

“I sell authentic Padangnese, with no added sugar so it’s very spicy. But I also sell what I call ‘Saba’ or ‘Salero Belanda’, I recreate the food to match the Dutch people’s taste. So the spicy beef for our Indonesian customers is more spicy than the one for the Dutch customers.”

The Indonesian Fair is held every year by the Indonesian embassy in the Netherlands, says Ambassador Retno Marsudi.

“It’s undescribable. Everybody here talks about Inodnesian food and restaurants. In many formal events in the Netherlands, they serve Indonesian food a lot. Even in the Navy, Indonesian food is on the regular menu,” she says proudly.

“Indonesian food is like the second national food in the Netherlands.”

In most of Europe, only a handful of restaurants sell Indonesian cuisine. But in the Netherlands there are 1,600 Indonesian restaurants, as well as food stalls and shops that sell Indonesian ingredients.

It’s not really a suprise given that Indonesia was occupied by the Ducth for 3 and a half centuries. And, that more than 2 percent of the Dutch population is of Indonesian descent.

Many long for the taste of home, and their connections to the archipelagic nation.  Like 40-year-old Albert Jan – his father was a soldier stationed in Indonesia between 1946-1947.

“When he came back home, he brought parts of his memories in Indonesia to us.”

The rise of Indonesian restaurants started in the 1980s, along with stalls selling specific ingredients for Indonesian food.  They are so easy to find that many people like Albert Jan started to cook their own Indonesian meals at home.

“I love to make Indonesian food myself. For instance, 3-4 weeks ago, I invited my brother and family to come, and have a traditional Indonesian supper. I cooked rendang, pork in soy sauce, chilli chicken, rica-rica chicken, spicy stir fried green beans. It took me about a full day to make all the dishes.” 

To cater the growing demand for Indonesian cuisine in the country, an online directory of Indonesian food and restaurants was launched during the Indonesian Fair event. 

Indonesian Ambassador Retno Marsudi is the person behind the directory.

She says that it now has list of restaurants in the country’s big cities and as it grows, the directory will go deeper into the history behind the food.

“We want the Netherlands to be an outlet of Indonesian cuisine in Europe. We are taking our promotion strategy all the way here to introduce Indonesian food.”

Here's the crowd at the Indonesian Festival 2013 at The Hague.

• Indonesia
• The Netherlands
• food
• Indonesian Fair
• Ging Ginanjar