For Indonesians, rice is a staple food which they eat literary three times a day; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even most Indonesians admit that if they have not eaten rice, they have not eaten at all. This means even you have eaten a loaf of bread but not eat a plate of rice, then you have no meal at all. Food besides rice such as bread, noodles, soups, and the like is not considered as main meal. So, here are Indonesian words for rice. Also learn more about Indonesian words for food.
1. Indonesian Vocabulary for rice
- Padi – rice plant, rice on the stalk
- Gabah – unpolished rice grains
- Beras – uncooked rice, usually bought at markets
- Nasi – cooked rice
- Beras ketan – sticky rice
- Nasi putih – white rice
- Nasi merah – brown rice (literary translate red rice)
- Tepung beras – rice flour
- Tepung – flour
- Sawah – rice field
- Gandum – wheat
- Gula beras – rice syrup
- Dedak – bran
2. Indonesian Dishes with rice
As a staple food, rice is cooked into numerous different dishes instead of just plain white rice. Whatever the dish, rice should be included in the menu. Take a look at below rice dishes. Learn more about seasons in Indonesia.
- Nasi campur – mixed rice, usually white rice with vegetables with spices.
- Nasi kuning – turmeric/yellow rice, usually served with fried chicken, noodles, egg, and tempeh.
- Nasi goreng – fried rice
- Nasi uduk – rice cooked in coconut milk, usually served with egg, fried chicken, sambal, and tempe.
- Lontong – rice cake in long shape, usually served with Indonesian soups.
- Ketupat – rice cake cooked in coconut leaves
- Kerupuk beras – rice crispy, usually made of sticky rice
- Nasi padang – Indonesian famous dish consist of white rice, vegetables, beef/chicken, sambal, and thick curry coconut sauce.
- Nasi bakar – roasted rice wrapped in banana leaf
- Nasi pecel – Indonesian dish consists of white rice, vegetables, and spicy peanut sauce.
- Bubur – porridge
- Bubur ayam – chicken porridge
- Nasi liwet – cooked rice in clay pot
That’s the Indonesian words for rice vocabulary.
Also learn Indonesian words for days of the week.
3. Indonesian Words related to rice or food usually served with rice
In Indonesia, rice is served with vegetables, chicken, beef, egg, and many more. There is also some dishes which should always include in every meal which are sambal or Indonesian chili paste and kerupuk or Indonesian crispy. Indonesians are not always eat chicken or beef everyday, but tofu and tempe should be in the menu everyday as protein source. Also learn more about Indonesian bargaining words.
- Telur – egg
- Krupuk – crackers
- Krupuk rambak – crispy beef skin
- Saus kari – curry sauce
- Mie – noodles
- Tahu – tofu
- Tempe – tempeh
- Sayur, sayuran – vegetable
- Makanan laut – seafood
- Daging – meat
- Ayam- chicken
- Sapi – beef
- Babi – pork
- Bebek – duck
- Kambing – goat/lamb
- Sambal – Indonesian chili sauce
- Pemasak nasi – rice cooker
- Jagung – corn
- Ubi – sweet potato
- Singkong – cassava
- Terasi – shrimp paste
- Gorengan – refers to deep fried dish such as fried banana, fried tempe, and so on.
Almost Indonesian food will always include rice as the condiment and cooked in unique way to make different dishes. Visiting Indonesia is never complete without tasting the delicious local dishes. Also learn more about Indonesian words for fruits.