Spicy Indonesian Street Food

Honestly, I debated writing this, because finding spicy Indonesian street food is easy. Finding good spicy Indonesian street food is equally easy. Walk into any warung, ask for sambal, and there it is. Problem solved. You do not need a blog post for that.

So this list is not about sambal on the side. It is about the dishes that arrive already hot, the ones that are a bit unusual, the ones I went looking for on purpose. Consider it a list for my fellow spicy lovers, a group that, as far as I can tell, contains me, Fafa and my cousins. (Everyone else, I love you, but you have been quietly asking for “medium” for years, and I have noticed.)

I could talk about Indonesian street food until the cows come home, then leave the next day. Nasi Jinggo, prawn tacos, martabak manis, nasi goreng– it does not end. But the spicy category takes time to appreciate. It asks for a brave heart and an even stronger stomach. Once you are used to it, it is like unlocking another level of flavour.

Here are some of my favourite Indonesian street food — the spicy category:

Lidi

A long, thin snack coated in chilli and salt. It was my after-school snack of choice, and one I had to hide from Amma because I was not allowed to eat it. Why? Nobody is sure what it is made of. Some say plastic. It is also spicy enough to burn through anything, but for less than five cents it was worth it. I have a lot of memories of splitting a packet with school friends while we argued about Harvest Moon and waited for our ride home. Fiery, and somehow nostalgic.

Macaroni

Another childhood favourite, and spicier than Lidi. My cousin used to smuggle it into the house without Amma knowing, and she always shared some with me. It went mainstream long before lidi did, so you can now find it in Asian supermarkets, even in Melbourne. If you want to try spicy Indonesian street food with slightly lower stakes, and no rumoured plastic, start here.

Seblak

I did not grow up on seblak. I met it when Fafa brought a packet home from an Indonesian store and asked me to cook it for him. I did, and I was sure I had ruined it. Gooey, slimy, absurdly spicy. I threw it out. Months later I was back in Indonesia, saw seblak being sold on the street, ordered it out of curiosity, and realised that is exactly how it is meant to be. Same texture, same heat. One bite and I was sweating. Seblak is not for the faint-hearted.

Mie Bangladesh

Nothing to do with Bangladesh. It came out of Aceh, and it is essentially Indomie that went to the gym. The noodles are cooked nyemek, meaning slightly soupy rather than fully fried, then buried under green chillies, raw onion, and a half-cooked egg. You mostly find it at the Medan and Aceh warkops in South Jakarta, a lot of which stay open all night, which tells you exactly what kind of dish it is.

Tahu Hot Jelotot

I have written about this tahu before, and it is still my go-to. I eat it every time I am home. If you like heat but you are still building up to it, this is a good place to start, because you get to set the level yourself.

Gorengan

Gorengan are not spicy on their own. They are just fried snacks: tempeh, tofu, mung bean, banana. The heat comes from the fresh bird’s eye chilli we eat them with. One bite of fritter, one bite of raw chilli. Not a beginner move. Once you are used to it, there is no substitute at tea time.

Rujak

Freshly cut tropical fruit served with a spicy peanut sauce made from peanuts, brown sugar and chilli. Thick peanut butter works for the sauce too. It is one of my favourite things to eat, and I am quietly trying to make it happen in Melbourne. There are other versions, including one with fermented fish, but the consensus is that the spicy one wins. Savoury, sweet and a straight dopamine hit.

Start with macaroni. Work your way up to seblak. Do not tell Amma.

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