10 Indonesian Street Food Dishes You Should Try At Least Once

The culinary diversity of Bali is as vibrant and unexpected as the color palette of its beach landscape. Authentic dishes are filled with vibrant flavors, traditional customs, and incredible stories. Despite the numerous upscale restaurants in Bali, you're unlikely to fully experience Indonesian cuisine without trying the ordinary street food. Here's a list of the most exotic local dishes that are definitely worth trying from street vendors in Bali!

Sate is a dish consisting of skewered and grilled meat chunks. As one of Indonesia's classic treats, it can be found in upscale restaurants as well as from street food vendors. Almost every region of the country has its own recipe for this dish, and thankfully, Indonesian sate is one of the most popular and delicious.

Typically, fresh pork, chicken, or fish is used for this dish. The meat is cut into small pieces, marinated in grated coconut, coconut milk, and other spices, then threaded onto skewers before being grilled. Traditionally, most Indonesian dishes are served with special sauces, but with sate, additional sauce is not necessary since it already contains a full range of flavors - spicy, sweet, and very juicy.

Imagine a dish consisting of rice, salad, and vegetables neatly wrapped in a banana leaf. Can you picture it? That's Nasi Jinggo. Locals say that a portion of this dish should fit in the palm of your hand; its compact size makes it the perfect food to eat on the go. So popular is this dish that you can find Nasi Jinggo on almost every street in Bali, sold from food stalls and parked motorcycles. Variations include fish, chicken, eggs, and even seafood, so you can choose what suits your taste!

Being an equatorial paradise, the island of Bali abounds with tropical fruits, especially coconuts and bananas. And if you mix them together, you get Pisang Rai. This Balinese snack is made from boiled banana, coated in rice flour, and then rolled in grated coconut. This soft, mouth-melting dessert has a tantalizingly sweet taste and an incredible exotic aroma. If street food vendors offer you an additional sauce made from brown sugar and pineapple chunks, accept it - it will further accentuate the tropical uniqueness of Pisang Rai.

For us, Nasi Tepeng is an unexpected combination of different ingredients in one dish, but for the residents of Gianyar in Bali, it's a very familiar breakfast. Early in the morning, street food vendors take to the main streets of the city, carrying with them the enticing aroma of dishes with spicy spices and herbs. No one can resist the temptation to start their day with a dish served on banana leaves consisting of crispy fried chicken, eggs, beans, eggplant, and jackfruit. Local residents simply adore this combination of flavors and rarely deviate from their morning tradition.

Laklak is the endearing name given to a sweet Balinese traditional dessert made from rice flour and coconut milk. Its green color comes from the leaves of suji and pandan - green trees that are found exclusively in Asia. These desserts are often served with grated coconut or a brown sugar sauce made from jackfruit, giving them a distinctive spicy taste. Laklak is perfect for an afternoon tea ceremony or enjoying with an early morning coffee.

Rujak is an Indonesian fruit salad with a traditional dressing. There are many variations of this dish across Indonesia, but the Balinese recipe is one of the most original. While most dressings for Rujak consist of brown sugar and peanut sauce, the Balinese decided to make it more spicy by adding pieces of tuna, fresh seaweed, and local spices. This creates the dressing for Rujak Kua Pindang. Could you ever have imagined that fruits and seafood could be so successfully combined in one dish?

Bakso are miniature Indonesian meatballs served with hot broth, and for a heartier meal, they can be served with noodles or fried dumplings. Many street food vendors sell Bakso from their carts, offering various spices and condiments. Local residents enjoy consuming warm food on cold evenings, but since those are not so common, meatballs are often used as a chilled snack between meals.

Corn would be the perfect complement to your stroll along Bali's stunning beaches. You can endlessly enjoy the cool evening breeze, enhancing the experience with warm freshly grilled corn. It's sold at many popular beaches, such as Kuta or Jimbaran. Before grilling, the sweet corn kernels are brushed with butter and other additional sauces. You can choose the sauce according to your taste, adding an extra kick to your dish.

Terang Bulan is one of the typical desserts in Asia, and it's also very popular in Bali. In texture and taste, it's very similar to our regular pancake. As filling between the two pancake-like layers, you can choose chocolate, cheese, nuts, condensed milk, all of these together, or just a mix of some of these ingredients. Terang Bulan, also known as Martabak, is the favorite dessert of local residents in Indonesia, often sold by street vendors from stalls or parked cars.

Due to the immense popularity of the dish Babi Guling, or simply roasted Balinese pig, it is now prepared not only in upscale restaurants but also available for everyone at street food stalls. Historically, it was a ceremonial dish; however, now you can enjoy the unforgettable taste of Babi Guling right on the street. Here, you pay a very affordable price and, at the same time, get a dish that is no less flavorful than what is offered in restaurants.

Babi Guling has truly become outstanding, largely thanks to special roasting methods and traditional spices generously infused into the entire huge piece of meat.

Bon appétit and unforgettable experiences in Bali!

What have you tried already? Share your impressions in the comments!