12 Traditional Vegetarian Food in Indonesia + How to Order

I have to laugh at how shocked Indonesians are when they find out I’m a vegetarian. “You don’t eat meat? So what do you eat?” These are their most common reactions, yet Indonesia is a paradise for vegetarians.

In this article, I’ll guide you through everything you need to know to be able to order vegetarian food in Indonesia. What should you look for, and what to avoid? Keep reading.

Vegetarian Food Out of Necessity?

Indonesians are generally an inventive nation and can easily manage where others would give up. Perhaps their vegetable-oriented nature is a necessity-born virtue, but as a vegetarian, I don’t mind at all.

Meat is expensive, and poorer people cannot afford to eat it every day. Especially in a country where it is normal to eat rice three times a day, meat dishes would be particularly expensive. In Java, meat is replaced with tempeh or tofu, to the point where we eat it in various variations almost every day.

When Vegetables Grow on Trees

Besides these popular soy products (tofu and tempeh), you will find a variety of veg dishes in Indonesia. The word “vegetable”, however, should be taken with a grain of salt because, in the Indonesian concept, anything green is a vegetable – even leaves.

Unless you’re spending time in Bali, where vegetarian and vegan restaurants of the Western type abound, expect that a “vegetable salad” might be something different than what you imagine.

They don’t much favor raw vegetables here (my husband’s family gets rashes every time they see me munching on fresh carrots), so fresh colorful dishes with raw vegetables are almost nowhere to be found on the street. Very often, however, they serve cooked vegetables in a million ways, so you definitely won’t go hungry.

Vegetarian or Vegan Travellers in Indonesia

In Indonesia, there is only a small difference between these two. Dairy products and products from them are not commonly found outside supermarkets and certainly not in any street food stall. Vegans and vegetarians in Indonesia thus eat the same thing, but one with an egg and the other without.

Beware: Troublemakers in Vegetarian Dishes

The basic rule for vegetarians and vegans is to at least minimally know the language and not to eat in restaurants but in street stalls. In some, they prepare the food on the spot (warung), in others, you choose from pre-prepared side dishes (warteg).

Asking for a vegetarian or vegan version is not a good idea. The concept of these lifestyles remains a mystery to Indonesians, so most will think you don’t eat rice. Some will understand that you don’t want meat, but fish is not meat, isn’t it. And others will follow all your instructions regarding meat and eggs and then throw bakso (meatballs) into the food.

It’s important to give clear instructions, for which the following phrases will help you. Even then, you’re not safe. Common “troublemakers” that spoil perfectly vegetarian and vegan dishes are oyster sauce, shrimp paste, tiny seafood, and also shrimp powder added to crackers called kerupuk.

The list of what you don’t want in your food can get quite lengthy…

English-Indonesian Phrases for Every Vegetarian in Indonesia

The following words/phrases should help you put together an Indonesian sentence expressing what you want and don’t want.

If you want to be more polite, you can add bu (madam) or pak (sir) at the beginning.

Your conversation at a stall selling only one dish, say bubur ayam (rice porridge served with chicken, onions, and crackers), might look like this:

• Bu, makan sini. Tidak pakai ayam dan kerupuk, bu. / Once here. Without chicken and crackers. 
• Tanpa ayam? / Without chicken? 
• Iya, bu. Tanpa ayam. / Yes, without chicken.

But it will be enough to express what you want and don’t want using basic words as below. Smile, and vendors will be patient with you.

English-Indonesian Vegetarian Food Glossary

Traditional Vegetarian Dishes in Indonesia

There are many vegetarian and vegan dishes in Indonesia. Not all are typical for all areas, and not all can be found in stalls. I have chosen 12 dishes that you will come across the islands, can buy at a street stall (warung), and are not just side dishes.

Gado Gado

A traditional vegetarian dish that often appears on the list of TOP 5 Indonesian national dishes. It consists of lightly boiled or steamed vegetables such as cabbage, green beans, sprouted mung beans, potatoes, and spinach. Everything is complemented by tofu or tempeh and a hard-boiled egg. The whole dish is topped with a spicy peanut sauce and garnished with crackers.

Watch out for

Peanut sauce and crackers may contain traces of shrimp. Vegans, make sure to order gado-gado without the egg.

Cap Cay

Definitely my favorite Indonesian dish. It is either boiled (cap cay rebus) or fried (cap cay goreng) vegetables in the Chinese style. The vegetables vary, most often you will find pieces of cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, corn, shallots, and garlic in the mix. Everything is thickened with cornstarch.

Watch out for

Always state in advance that you want a portion without meat, meatballs, and also without oyster sauce.

Bubur Kacang Hijau or Burjo

It is not a main dish but rather a dessert. In any case, I guarantee you will love it. The ideal breakfast for those who can’t imagine eating rice a few minutes after waking up consists of cooked mung beans, coconut milk, and brown palm or cane sugar.

There are many variants, and among my favorites is either a combination of rice porridge with burjo or burjo served with sweet sticky rice ketan hitam and coconut milk.

Watch out for

Absolutely no worries, with burjo you risk at most overeating.

Nasi Goreng

The second dish on the list of Indonesian national dishes, found on every corner. It is fried rice (in the style of risotto), flavored with garlic, shallots, chili (according to preference), egg, fresh cucumber, and crackers.

Watch out for

When ordering, ask for a version without meat, meatballs, oyster, or shrimp sauce. Crackers may contain traces of shrimp, and vegans should request a version without the egg.

Explore Indonesian street food with our guide Best 15 Indonesian Street Foods: A Flavorful Journey Through Local Delights.

Ketoprak

Ketoprak, like gado-gado, is popular mainly in Jakarta, where you will find street vendors everywhere. As always, they prepare the dish on the spot from ingredients they brought from home. Fried tofu is served with pieces of cooked rice ketupat, rice noodles, sprouted beans, cucumber, and topped with peanut sauce, where you can specify the level of spiciness.

Watch out for

Ketoprak is often sprinkled with crackers and sometimes served with a hard-boiled egg.

Kwetiau

Kwetiau is a dish inspired by the Chinese community and pleasantly diversifies the menu. You can enjoy it in many forms, most often cooked kwetiau kuah or fried kwetiau goreng. You can also choose the ingredients, and this is where vegetarians and vegans need to be cautious. Very often kwetiau is served with meat, meatballs, egg, and various sauces. If you order correctly, you will love these cooked/fried noodles with vegetables as much as I do.

Watch out for

In each order, mention that you don’t want meat, seafood, meatballs, oyster sauce, and possibly egg.

Nasi Kuning

Nasi Kuning, or yellow rice, is nothing more than rice cooked in coconut milk with turmeric. Some vendors add additional spices to the rice, such as cinnamon, cloves, or cardamom, which give the dish an unusual but very pleasant aroma.

The yellow rice itself is a vegetarian side dish often accompanied by meat and non-meat variations. Besides fried tofu or tempeh, you may also find an omelette or chicken.

Watch out for

When ordering, check what they serve with the rice. Ask for a version without meat and possibly without eggs.

Mie Aceh

Spicy food lovers will fall in love with mie aceh in a few seconds. Fried mie aceh goreng or cooked mie aceh kuah comes from Sumatra’s Aceh province and combines Chinese noodles with an Indian-style sauce. The taste of this dish is quite different from the ones mentioned above, and you will only find it in certain cities in Java.

Watch out for

There are both meat and non-meat versions, so always ensure you order mie aceh without meat, seafood, or oyster sauce.

Pecel

Pecel is similar to gado-gado but is specific to Central Java. It contains cooked vegetables such as spinach, green beans, bean sprouts, cauliflower, and tofu, which are served with peanut sauce.

Watch out for

Some versions may contain shrimp paste or fish sauce, so it’s important to specify this in advance. And watch out for crackers.

Sayur Lodeh

This is a vegetable stew that is popular mainly in Java. The base consists of various types of vegetables such as eggplant, green beans, young jackfruit, tempeh, and tofu, which are cooked in coconut milk with spices like turmeric, galangal, and lemongrass.

Watch out for

Some versions may contain shrimp paste, so you need to specify that you want a version without it.

Urap Urap

This dish consists of cooked vegetables and is locally called a salad. However, don’t be fooled. It contains various vegetables such as spinach, green beans, and sprouted mung beans mixed with grated coconut, garlic, chili, and lime juice, but it is far from a typical Western salad.

Watch out for

Ensure that no shrimp paste is used.

Gudeg

The base of this delicious dish from Yogyakarta is young jackfruit. It is slowly cooked in coconut milk with spices like coriander, galangal, and lemongrass. It is often served with rice, tofu, tempeh, and hard-boiled eggs.

Watch out for

Vegetarians don’t need to worry, vegans should ask for a portion without eggs.

Final Tip – Get Invited to Locals

After a few weeks of traveling in Indonesia, I was worried about how bland and boring Indonesian cuisine seemed for vegetarians and vegans. However, the opposite is true. Indonesian cuisine is diverse, rich in vegetables, and not always fried. 

To taste such delicacies, however, you need at least a basic knowledge of the language. Fried coconut or jackfruit often resemble meat dishes in appearance, and some vegetarian dishes are not found on the street. For locals, they are either too ordinary or, conversely, too complicated to prepare.

To taste them, you need to get invited to locals’ homes. In our village, people know almost every tree, leaf, and root and can combine them into perfectly flavored dishes. Papaya leaves, banana blossoms, moringa leaves, or corn rice are ingredients like any other, and you won’t know what to eat first.

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