Padang food is the cuisine of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra

West Sumatra

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island Sumatra. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. It is among the most popular food in Maritime Southeast Asia

Maritime Southeast Asia

Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and includes the modern countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Singapore....

. It is known across Indonesia as Masakan Padang (Padang cuisine, in English usually the simpler Padang food) after the city of Padang

Padang, Indonesia

Padang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 833,000 people at the 2010 Census.-History:...

 the capital city of West Sumatra

West Sumatra

West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island Sumatra. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast...

 province , it is served in restaurants opened by Minangkabau people in Indonesian cities. Padang food is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities, and is also popular in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. The term "Padang food" is often used to designate the whole culinary traditions of Minangkabau people, however this term is seldom used in Minangkabau inland cities such as Bukittinggi

Bukittinggi

Bukittinggi is one of the larger cities in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of over 91,000 people and an area of 25.24 km². It is situated in the Minangkabau highlands, 90 km by road from the West Sumatran capital city of Padang. It is located at , near the volcanoes Mount...

 that is also a culinary hotspot in West Sumatra and refer to it as Masakan Minang or Minangkabau food instead, since there is differences between Nasi Padang of Padang and Nasi Kapau of Bukittinggi.

Padang food is famous for its rich taste of succulent coconut milk

Coconut milk

Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...

 and spicy chili. Among various cooking traditions within Indonesian cuisine, Minangkabau cuisine and most of Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

n cuisine, demonstrate Indian

Indian cuisine

Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...

 and Middle Eastern

Middle Eastern cuisine

Middle-Eastern cuisine, West Asian cuisine, or in some place in the United States, Persian-Mediterranean cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East . The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity...

 influences, which is various dishes cooked in curry

Curry

Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...

 sauce with coconut milk, also the heavy use of spices mixture.

Because most of Minangkabau people are muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s, Minangkabau cuisine follows halal

Halal

Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...

 dietary law rigorously. Protein intake are mostly taken from beef, water buffalo, goat, and lamb meat, and also includes poultry and fishes. Minangkabau people are known for their fondness of cattle meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 products including offal

Offal

Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...

. Almost the whole parts of a cattle, such as meat, rib

Rib

In vertebrate anatomy, ribs are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. In most vertebrates, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the chest cavity. They serve to protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax...

s, tongue

Tongue

The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...

, tail

Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...

, liver

Liver (food)

The liver of mammals, fowl, and fish are commonly eaten as food by humans. Domestic pig, ox, lamb, calf, chicken, and goose livers are widely available from butchers and supermarkets....

, tripe

Tripe

Tripe is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.-Beef tripe:...

, brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

, bone marrow

Bone marrow

Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...

, spleen

Spleen

The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...

, intestine

Intestine

In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

, cartilage

Cartilage

Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...

, tendon

Tendon

A tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fasciae connect muscles to other...

, and even skin

Skin

-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...

, are made to be Minangkabau delicacies. Seafood is popular in coastal West Sumatran cities, and most are grilled or fried with spicy chilli sauce or in curry gravy. Various of fishes, shrimp, and cuttlefish in also cooked in similar fashion. Most of Minangkabau food is eaten with hot steamed rice or compressed rice such as katupek (ketupat

Ketupat

Ketupat or packed rice is a type of dumpling from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines , and Singapore.-History:It is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled...

). Vegetables are mostly boiled such as boiled cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

 leaf, or simmered in thin curry as side dishes, such as gulai

Gulai

Gulai is a type of food contained rich, spicy and succulent curry-like sauce. The main ingredients might be chicken, beef, mutton, various kinds of offals, fish and seafoods, and also vegetables such as cassava leafs and young jackfruit. The gulai sauce commonly have thick consistency with...

 (some kind of curry) of young jackfruit

Jackfruit

The jackfruit is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family . It is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh, . The jackfruit tree is believed to be indigenous to the southwestern rain forests of India...

 or cabbages.

Padang restaurant

In Padang food establishments, it is common to eat with one's hands. They usually serve kobokan, a bowl of tap water with a slice of lime in it to give a fresh scent. This bowl of water with lime in it should not to be consumed, however; it is used to wash one's hand before and after eating. If a customer do not wished to eat with bare hands, it is acceptable to ask for spoon

Spoon

A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...

 and fork

Fork

As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow tines on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent...

 instead.

The cuisine is usually cooked once per day, and in restaurants customers choose from those dishes, which are left out on display in the window of Padang restaurant. During a dine-in hidang (serve) style Padang restaurant, after the customer being seated, the customer did not have to order first. The waiter immediately serves the dishes directly to the table, and the table will quickly be set with dozens of small dishes filled with highly-flavored foods such as beef rendang

Rendang

Rendang is a dish which originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia, and is now commonly served across the country. One of the characteristic foods of Minangkabau culture, it is served at ceremonial occasions and to honour guests...

, curried fish, stewed greens, chili eggplant, curried beef liver, tripes, intestines, or foot tendons, fried beef lung, fried chicken, and of course, sambal

Sambal

Sambal is a chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. Sambals are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Netherlands and in Suriname through Javanese influence. It is typically made from a variety of chili peppers and is...

, the spicy sauces ubiquitous at Indonesian tables. Customers take — and pay for — only what they want from this array of dishes. The best known Padang dish is rendang

Rendang

Rendang is a dish which originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia, and is now commonly served across the country. One of the characteristic foods of Minangkabau culture, it is served at ceremonial occasions and to honour guests...

, a spicy meat stew. Soto Padang (crispy beef in spicy soup) is local residents' breakfast favorite, meanwhile sate (beef satay

Satay

Satay , or sate, is a dish of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. 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...

 in curry

Curry

Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...

 sauce served with ketupat

Ketupat

Ketupat or packed rice is a type of dumpling from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines , and Singapore.-History:It is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled...

) is a treat in the evening.

The serving style is different in Nasi Kapau food stall, a Minangkabau Bukittinggi

Bukittinggi

Bukittinggi is one of the larger cities in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of over 91,000 people and an area of 25.24 km². It is situated in the Minangkabau highlands, 90 km by road from the West Sumatran capital city of Padang. It is located at , near the volcanoes Mount...

 style. After the customer being seated, the customer will be asked which one of dishes they have desired. The chosen dishes will be put directly upon the steamed rice or in separate small dishes.

There are myriad Padang food establishments throughout Indonesia and the region, according to Ikatan Warung Padang Indonesia (Iwapin) or Warung Padang Bonds in greater Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

 alone there are at least 20,000 Padang restaurant establishments. Several notable Minangkabau restaurant chains are Sederhana, Garuda, Pagi Sore, Simpang Raya, Sari Ratu, Sari Minang, Salero Bagindo and Natrabu.

Dishes

• Rendang
  Rendang
  Rendang is a dish which originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia, and is now commonly served across the country. One of the characteristic foods of Minangkabau culture, it is served at ceremonial occasions and to honour guests...
  
  , chunks of beef stewed in spicy coconut milk and chili gravy, cooked well until dried. Other than beef, rendang ayam or chicken rendang also can be found.
• Daun ubi tumbuk
  Daun ubi tumbuk
  Daun ubi tumbuk is a vegetable dish in Padang food made from puréed cassava leaves. The cassava leaves are traditionally pounded with a wooden mortar and pestle, although finely chopping or puréeing them using a blender is an alternative.The leaves are cooked in a fried spice paste consisting at a...
  
  , cassava
  Cassava
  Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
  
   leaves in coconut milk
• Sate Padang
  Sate Padang
  Sate Padang is a speciality satay from Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, made from beef cut into small dices with spicy sauce on top of it. Its main characteristic is a yellow sauce made from rice flour mixed with spicy offal broth, turmeric, ginger, garlic, coriander, galangal root, cumin, curry...
  
  , Padang style satay
  Satay
  Satay , or sate, is a dish of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. 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...
  
  , skewered barbecued meat with thick yellow sauce
• Soto Padang, a soup of beef
• Sambal Balado, sambal with large sliced chilli pepper
• Sambal Lado Tanak
• Kalio, similar to rendang but while rendang is rather dry, kalio is still watery and light colored
• Gulai Ayam, chicken gulai
  Gulai
  Gulai is a type of food contained rich, spicy and succulent curry-like sauce. The main ingredients might be chicken, beef, mutton, various kinds of offals, fish and seafoods, and also vegetables such as cassava leafs and young jackfruit. The gulai sauce commonly have thick consistency with...
  
  
• Gulai Cancang, gulai
  Gulai
  Gulai is a type of food contained rich, spicy and succulent curry-like sauce. The main ingredients might be chicken, beef, mutton, various kinds of offals, fish and seafoods, and also vegetables such as cassava leafs and young jackfruit. The gulai sauce commonly have thick consistency with...
  
   of meats and cow internal organs
• Gulai Tunjang, gulai of cow foot tendons
• Gulai Babek or Gulai Babat, gulai of cow tripes
• Gulai Iso or Gulai Usus, gulai of cow intestines usually filled with eggs and tofu
• Gulai Limpo, gulai of cow spleen
• Gulai Ati, gulai of cow liver
• Gulai Otak, gulai of cow brain
• Gulai Sumsum, gulai of cow bone marrow
• Gulai Gajeboh, cow fat gulai
• Gulai Itiak, duck gulai
• Gulai Talua, boiled eggs gulai
• Gulai Kepala Ikan Kakap Merah, red snapper's head gulai
• Gulai Jariang, jengkol
  Jengkol
  Archidendron pauciflorum, commonly known as Jengkol, Dogfruit, or Jering is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to Southeast Asia...
  
   stinky bean gulai
• Dendeng Batokok, thin crispy beef
• Dendeng Balado, thin crispy beef with chilli
• Palai
• Paru Goreng, fried cow lung
• Asam Padeh
• Ayam Bakar, grilled spicy chicken
• Ayam Goreng, fried chicken with spicy granules
• Ayam Pop, Padang style chicken, boiled/steamed and later fried. While fried chicken is golden brown, ayam pop is light colored.
• Ikan Bilih, fried anchovy
• Udang Balado, shrimp in chilli
• Rajungan Goreng, crispy fried crab
• Petai Goreng, fried green stinky bean (Parkia speciosa
  Parkia speciosa
  Parkia speciosa is a plant of the genus Parkia in the family Fabaceae...
  
  )

Snacks and drinks

• Lemang
  Lemang
  Lemang is a traditional Malay food made of glutinous rice and coconut milk and cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick lined with banana leaves in order to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo. The cooking method using bamboo container is popular in Iban Dayak tribe of Borneo...
  
  mixture of sticky rice, coconut milk and pandan in thin bamboo (talang).
• Tapai
  Tapai
  Tapai or tape , sometimes referred to as peuyeum , is a traditional fermented food found throughout much of East- and Southeast Asia. It is a sweet or sour alcoholic paste...
  
  fermented sticky rice
• Teh Talua
  Teh Talua
  Teh Talua or Teh Telor is a beverage from West Sumatra that is popular throughout the region. Its ingredients are tea, sugar, egg yolk and calamondin....
  
  , mixture of tea and egg
• Dadiah
  Dadiah
  Dadih , a traditional fermented milk of West Sumatra, Indonesia, is made by pouring fresh raw unheated buffalo milk into a bamboo tube capped with a banana leaf, and allowing it to ferment spontaneously at room temperature for two days....
  
  , fermented buffalo milk
• Bubur Kampiun porridge made from rice flour mixed with brown sugar
• Es Tebak, mixed of avocado, jack fruit, tebak, shreded iced with sweet thick milk
• Karupuak Jangek, cow's skin cracker
• Karipiak Balado or Karipiak Sanjai, cassava cracker coated with hot and sweet chilli paste
• Dakak-dakak
• Galamai
• Amping Dadiah

See also

• Indonesian cuisine
• Malay cuisine
  Malay cuisine
  Malay cusine is the cuisine of Malay people of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand. Different Malay regions are all known for their unique or signature dishes - Terengganu and Kelantan for their Nasi dagang, Nasi kerabu and Keropok lekor, Negeri Sembilan for its...
  
  
• Javanese cuisine
  Javanese cuisine
  Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people. In wider sense, Javanese cuisine might also refer to the cuisine of the whole people of Java Island, Indonesia; which also include Sundanese in West Java, Betawi people in Jakarta and Madurese on Madura Island off East Java...
  
  
• Sundanese cuisine
  Sundanese cuisine
  Sundanese cuisine is the cuisine of Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia. It is among one of the most popular food in Indonesia. The Sundanese food is characterize with its freshness; the famous lalab eaten with sambal and also karedok demonstrate the Sundanese fondness for fresh raw vegetables...