Indonesian cuisine is renowned for its extensive use of spices, particularly chilli peppers. For some foreigners or expats living in Indonesia, the level of spiciness can be surprising, although there are those who truly enjoy the heat.
A video by @trev__travels illustrates this phenomenon, showing a foreigner who changed his name on a food delivery app to receive Indonesian dishes with the appropriate level of local spices. In his caption, he explained:
“My stage name is Budi 🇮🇩
But seriously, Indonesia does not mess around with their spice levels.
I actually do have a very high spice tolerance and always ask restaurants to make my food ‘locally spicy’, but it’s extremely rare that I ever get a meal that is truly spicy. I developed the theory that the restaurants don’t actually make it ‘local spicy’ when they see that you’re a foreigner in fear that you can’t handle it and will leave a bad review.
So, I put this theory to the test and, ever since I changed my name on the app, the food that’s delivered is at least double the spice level compared to when my name was ‘Trevor’.
Do not try this at home, your tongue will not be happy with you.”
The video received a variety of comments, including one which read: “Damn that’s smart thanks for the tip bro.”
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Indonesia’s spicy flavours are notably diverse. For instance, in Bali, many foreigners tend to prefer milder dishes, and so the level of spice is often adjusted when they order.
Four Indonesian Sambals Listed Among TasteAtlas’ Most Delicious Sauces
Celebrating the nation’s distinctive culinary tradition, Indonesian cuisine has once again been recognised by the Croatia-based online guide platform TasteAtlas, which is known for its comprehensive reviews of traditional food, critical assessments of dishes, and detailed research on popular ingredients.
In its March 2025 release, TasteAtlas included four Indonesian chilli sauces in its list of the 50 most delicious sauces.
Topping the list is sambal terasi, which secured 25th place with a score of 4.4 out of 5. TasteAtlas explains that sambal terasi is a traditional sauce found in both Indonesia and Malaysia, made primarily from a mixture of red chilli and shrimp paste, along with garlic, shallots, tomatoes, onions, lime juice, oil, sugar, and salt.
In the ranking, another version of sambal terasi is placed at 26th with the same score of 4.4, following Mole Negro from Mexico.
This regional chilli sauce from West Java is similarly composed of red chilli and shrimp paste as its main ingredients, supplemented by garlic, shallots, tomatoes, onions, lime juice, oil, sugar, and salt.
Sambal terasi is typically served as an accompaniment to various dishes such as fried chicken, fried tofu, and fried tempeh.
Additionally, a simpler variant known as sambal from Java, which is made solely from chilli and salt – though sometimes incorporating lime juice, onions, sugar, ginger, shrimp paste, or vinegar – received a score of 4.3 out of 5 and was ranked 33rd.
Not to be overlooked, Sambal Pecel also earned a score of 4.3 and was placed at 35th. Pecel sauce generally refers to a fragrant peanut sauce, whose base consists of roasted peanuts and spices typically including chilli, palm sugar, garlic, tamarind juice, shrimp paste, kaffir lime leaves, salt, and kencur.
Completing the list, tomato ketchup scored 4.3 and was ranked 45th. This Indonesian version of tomato sauce, made from a blend of tomatoes and cayenne pepper, offers a slightly sweet and sour taste that is complemented by a notable spicy kick, with the texture varying from smooth to thick depending on the method of preparation.
This comprehensive recognition of Indonesia’s chilli sauces by TasteAtlas underscores the diversity and depth of the nation’s culinary traditions.
