You’ve probably heard of Tex-Mex—a classic example of fusion cuisine—which was created when Mexican techniques and dishes adapted to Texan ingredients and preferences. But Tex-Mex isn’t the only example of cultures meeting and marrying in the form of delicious dishes. There’s a type of fusion cuisine you probably haven’t ever tried or even heard of: Indo-Dutch cuisine.
Indo-Dutch cuisine was developed over hundreds of years, from the 1600s (when the Dutch colonized Indonesia) to 1945 (when Indonesia declared its independence). During this period, many upper-class and educated Indonesians incorporated European dishes and techniques into their households’ cooking as a status symbol. New dishes were created, such as selat solo (also called bistik jawa), which is essentially a thinly sliced European beefsteak braised with spices and sauces, including an Indonesian sweet soy sauce called kecap manis and European sauces like Worcestershire sauce.
Dutch settlers in Indonesia also created new dishes with the ingredients they found there, often in the form of pastries and cakes. Lapis lagit (also called spekkoek) and klapertaart are two prime examples. Lapis lagit is a layered cake that uses many spices native to Indonesia, such as cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom to create a firm, fragrant cake that is often enjoyed around Christmastime. Klapertaart is a cake that incorporates the flesh and juice of coconuts. When Dutch settlers combined the basis for European cake (flour, sugar, milk, butter) with coconuts, klapertaart was made.
Despite the colonial legacy and unideal origins of Indo-Dutch cuisine, it’s still worth enjoying. No matter its origin, when you taste Indo-Dutch food, you’re experiencing the result of centuries of cultural fusion—you’re tasting history. So grab a fork and dig in.