TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's sambal goreng, which translates to fried sambal, has been lauded as the best stir-fry dish in the world by TasteAtlas. The spicy Indonesian dish scored 4.6, surpassing other renowned dishes such as Beef Chow Fun from China and Pad Thai from Thailand.
The Croatia-based traditional culinary mapping platform released the full list, titled "Top 100 Stir-Fry Dishes in the World," on their website, Tasteatlas.com.
TasteAtlas describes sambal goreng as a "variety of spicy, fried dishes made with sambal." Typically, sambal goreng is combined with various ingredients such as vegetables, meat, tofu, or tempeh.
Key Difference Between Sambal Goreng and Regular Sambal
In a journal written by Latifahtur L. Rahmah and Arif N. M. Ansori, the key difference between regular sambal and sambal goreng lies in that sambal is considered a complimentary side dish typically for dipping, while sambal goreng is a main dish served with additional protein such as shrimp.
Sambal goreng is served on various occasions, even during ceremonial feasts. TasteAtlas recommends udang balado (shrimp with chili sauce) as a type of sambal goreng dish to the global community.
Indonesian Foods in the Top 50 Stir-Fry Dishes
In addition to sambal goreng, several other Indonesian stir-fry dishes also made it to the list of awards. Among them is nasi goreng ayam (chicken fried rice), which ranked eleventh.
There are other types of fried rice from Indonesia on the list, namely nasi goreng (fried rice), which is ranked eleventh; turmeric fried rice, which is placed at number 19; and nasi goreng mawut (muddled fried rice). Additionally, there's cap cai in number 37 and stir-fried tempeh at 38.
MUHAMMAD RIFAN PRIANTO