Acehnese
Sumatra's curry-forward northern tip — fragrant mie aceh, fried-curry-leaf ayam tangkap, and vegetable curries built on fermented coconut.
Mie Aceh
Thick yellow noodles with a dense curry spice and seafood or mutton — Aceh's signature.
View page →Aceh sits at Sumatra's northern tip, where centuries of Indian, Arab and Malay trade left a curry-deep, spice-heavy table. Mie aceh — thick yellow noodles in a dense curry of cumin, cardamom and star anise with seafood or mutton — is the everyday emblem. Ayam tangkap buries fried chicken under a haystack of crisp curry leaves and fried shallots; sie reuboh keeps beef in palm vinegar; and kuah pliek u, a vegetable curry built on fermented, oil-pressed coconut residue, is the dish Acehnese name first when asked what is truly theirs.
Start Here
Thick yellow noodles in a dense curry with seafood or mutton.
Why start here · Aceh's everyday emblem.
Fried chicken buried under crisp curry leaves and shallots.
Why start here · The Aceh restaurant showpiece.
Vegetable curry built on fermented coconut residue.
Why start here · The dish Acehnese call truly theirs.
The Pantry
See all 40 ingredients›
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
See 6 more techniques›
Kindred Kitchens
Cuisines built on the same signature ingredients
Other regions
Siblings within Indonesian — each its own tradition.