Indonesia Needs to Have National Cuisine, Tourism Minister Says

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that the vast number of Indonesian typical dishes is an advantage. However, it can also cause difficulties for the government to choose a national cuisine that represents Indonesia.

"The fact that we have a wide range of choices of dishes is also a drawback. I proposed to Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) to have a national dish," Arief said in Menteng, Jakarta on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Read: Indonesian Eid Dishes From Aceh until Makassar

The government determines five kinds of dishes to be proposed as a national cuisine. The dishes include rendang (beef simmered in coconut milk), soto (traditional aromatic soup), sate (meat skewers with peanut sauce), nasi goreng (fried rice), and gado-gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce). "We chose top five, but Bekraf proposed only one which is soto," Arief said.

Bekraf chief Triawan Munaf said that soto was chosen since it is ubiquitous. It also has 50 varieties.

"I proposed soto since it can be consumed at all meal times. It can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Triawan explained.

Triawan also emphasized the importance of support toward domestic culinary. Food, he continued, confers great contribution to the creative economy.

In 2015, Triawan went on, Indonesian creative economy contributed Rp852 trillion or around 7.38 percent out of the total national revenues in which culinary, fashion, and handicrafts were the highest contributing sectors.

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