Indomie

Instant noodles of this kind came to Indonesia in the early 1970s, and the packeted noodle that bears the name Indomie has been made in the country since 1972. It belongs to the modern industrial pantry, not to any regional kitchen of the archipelago, and it is carried by the whole nation, in the home, the warung, the student's room and the night stall.

A dried, pre-cooked wheat noodle sold in a packet with separate sachets of seasoning, sweet soy sauce, chilli and fried shallot, and prepared by boiling for a few minutes. It is made in a soup form and in the dry-tossed form called mi goreng, in which the boiled noodle is drained and dressed in the sachets. Indonesia is among the largest consumers of instant noodles in the world, and the product is sold abroad in many countries.

It is eaten with a fried egg, sliced chilli, fresh cucumber or greens, and often with a spoonful of sambal or a handful of krupuk, and it is drunk with hot sweet tea or cold water. The structural reason is balance: the sweet, salty and fried seasoning needs the sharpness of chilli and the freshness of raw or lightly cooked vegetable, and the egg gives the bowl body.