Indonesian cuisine reflects this complex cultural history. Cooking varies greatly by region and combines many different influences. However, most Indonesian food shares the nearly universal food trinity of fish, coconut and chile. The main meal in Indonesia is usually served at midday. Food which was cooked in the morning is set out all at once.
Family members help themselves, serving with a spoon and eating with right hands.
There is less family gathering or ceremony of communal eating than in other cultures, but there is communal cooking and a strict hierarchy that determines one's role and comportment at the table. A meal may include a soup, salad, and another main dish . Whatever the meal, it is accompanied by at least one, and often several sambals , spice relishes that are mixed with the food. A light meal might consist of rice, some dried fish and a chile sambal. Indonesian cooking is rich with coconut milk .