Description

IntroductionIndonesia, a series of islands that lie in the path of countlessancient trade routes, has long reaped the rewards of its location.Over the centuries, traders from distant lands brought new religions,traditions, and recipes to the islands. The first inhabitants ofIndonesia came from the Southeast Asian mainland in 2000 B.C.These people, called the Malay, introduced rice and stir-frying, amethod of cooking vegetables and meats in a bowl-shaped pancalled a wok.Hundreds of years later, missionaries and merchants from Indiatraveled to the islands of Java and Sumatra. They brought Hinduismand Buddhism along with the curry cooking tradition and turmeric,a favorite East Indian spice. Arab traders, who introduced the religionof Islam to the islands, also brought recipes for kabobs andmutton (sheep) dishes. The Europeans, mainly the Portuguese andthe Dutch, contributed vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes. Inreturn, traders took spices native to Indonesia, such as nutmeg, pepper,mace, and cloves, back to their own countries.