Fishy Fun in Indonesia

Made up of over 17,000 islands the amount of fish available in Indonesia is extensive.  As an muslim based country it is also understandable that fish is more often eaten rather than pork or meat that must be killed and cured in a specific way.

Arriving in Labuan Bajo, Flores,  we were greeted by a friendly fish market with hundreds of different types of fish- fresh, smoked or dried.  The pungent odour requires a more adventurous traveller to explore and admire the catches of the day.

Young boy chopping fish steaks on the ground outside the fish market.  

Popular seafoods in Indonesian cuisine include mackerel, tuna, red snapper, wahoo, milkfish, anchovy, cuttlefish, shrimp, crab, mussel

                                                    Fish in Indonesian cuisine in cooked in a variety of ways such as bakar (grilled), rebus (boiled) or goreng (fried).  Fish is also used in sauces and spices to add flavour to the dish.  Ikan asin meaning salted fish is preserved fish or seafood cured in salt as can be seen in these pictures.  Some are also dried fish.

Strong man slicing tuna

By every street you normally find a food stall which is like a mini outdoor restaurant.  When fresh fish is available you can just pick the fish you'd like and they grill it for you with a spicy sauce usually consisting of garlic and soy sauce.  A neat portion of rice and vegetables usually comes with the fish and it's eaten with your hands dipping in sambal - a type of spicy sauce that is served with most fish or meat.

As you can see this fish was thoroughly enjoyed!