“Southeast Asian cuisine, such as Thai, Malaysian,
Indonesian, Philippine, and Vietnamese, was cited as increasingly trendy in the
National Restaurant Association’s annual survey of chefs. According to “What’s
Hot in 2014,” compiled from feedback from nearly 1,300 members of the American
Culinary Federation, Southeast Asian foods ranked among the top five trendy
ethnic cuisines along with foods from Korea and Peru.”
The Weekly Sprinkles will take a look at three emerging
cuisines in depth over the next few weeks. This week’s first segment: Indonesia’s
Exotic Flavors
This Southeast Asian archipelago of volcano-studded islands
has an emerging wealth of high-quality raw materials, from coffee and cacao to
coconuts, sugar, and rice. But even with that bounty, the low number of
Indonesians in the U.S. and scarcity of Indonesian restaurants and specialty
food products—compared with other Southeast Asian countries—means the cuisine
is mostly a mystery here.
Now on the verge of discovery, Indonesian food does have
American fans, who tend to be vocal converts. A survey conducted by CNN Travel
had readers choosing “rendang"—an Indonesia beef dish often made
with banana peppers, lemongrass, and coconut milk—as the most delicious food in
the world.
Source: Specialty Food News
