Indonesians eat fewer vegetables and more fruits, Filipinos - the other way around
Little similarity, great difference
Let us start, after all, with the "common" that exists among the "subjects". In both places, rice is the head of everything (as, indeed, everywhere in Asia, from India to China and from Japan to Thailand). The insular nature of both countries (about 17 thousand islands in Indonesia, more than 7 thousand in the Philippines) guarantees an abundance of fresh fish and seafood. Similar fruits and vegetables, spices and seasonings.
Of the specifics - pastes and sauces made from fermented fish and shrimp, whose spicy taste is magnificent, but the smell is enough to drive the saints out. Used in a huge number of complex dishes; fortunately, during heat treatment these seasonings largely lose their intolerable "aroma". There is even some linguistic similarity, albeit of a rather amusing nature, in culinary names. Thus, in Indonesia the word "petis" is used for shrimp paste, while in the Philippines the word "patis" is a sauce, or, as the Filipinos themselves say, "wine" made from the same shrimp.
There are certainly far more differences. First, foreign invaders are to blame. If Indonesia, which once came under the influence of Muslims, remains the largest country in the Islamic world, then in the Philippines the Spaniards once ruled the roost. Accordingly, in the first case - numerous culinary taboos, in the second - complete pluralism.
Secondly, the more subtle influence of other cultures is felt. In Indonesia - more of Arabic and Indian. And in the Philippines - Polynesian, Chinese and, later, Latin American. The last example is the most interesting: from Mexican cuisine practically nothing came to the South Asian archipelago, although the general administration of this overseas territory was carried out precisely from Mexico City. But today's Filipinos owe precisely to Mexico the abundance in their menu of tomatoes, beans, corn, chocolate, avocado, and potatoes.
The very basics
Rice is prepared differently in Indonesia and the Philippines. In the former case, preference is given to fluffy rice, and sometimes also slightly fried. For example, the "signature" Indonesian dish "nasi goreng" is made from fried rice. By the way, the word "nasi" means both rice and food in general. For a tourist, the first meaning is more valuable: if you see something with "nasi" on the menu, it will definitely be rice. But on the islands of the Philippine archipelago, the "bread of the East" is steamed until it becomes almost porridge. And, frankly, in many cases they prefer noodles to it (thanks to the Chinese!).
Spices deserve special attention in these countries. Not for nothing was the island of Molucca (now part of Indonesia) long and quite officially called the Island of Spices! The sets are similar - even listing the main components would take too much space. But the degree of spiciness and, accordingly, the taste of dishes differs radically. For example, describing the consequences of tasting Indonesian cuisine, the German scientist and traveler Karl Helbig wrote that he "jumped to the ceiling with his mouth wide open". He came across a lombok - a small but monstrously fiery pepper that is part of many local dishes. In the Philippines, the esteemed Herr Doctor would have been guaranteed insurance against this kind of misfortune. The Filipinos themselves say that they have "a tongue with a sour note". That is, not so much spicy as sweet-and-sour and moderately seasoned.
So if you want something hotter, head to Indonesia. You won't go wrong (note that the resort most popular with our tourists - Bali - is considered the most "mild" in this regard). Especially famous is the thick sauce sambal - hot peppers of various kinds, ground with ginger, onion, garlic, lime or tamarind juice, and trasi shrimp paste. According to some experts, it is long past time to put it on the UN list of weapons banned for use. On the other hand, in small quantities sambal gives a dish an incredibly piquant flavor.
Indonesians eat fewer vegetables and more fruits, Filipinos - the other way around. Both are sweet-toothed, but in Indonesia various rice "creations" are more popular (the national cuisine generally counts up to 50 rice dishes, while their neighbors have significantly fewer), and in the Philippines - buns and cookies made in European traditions, as well as hot chocolate. How anyone can drink it in the tropics is understood only by the Filipinos themselves.
Well, and of course, it would be a crime to forget about Indonesian banana dishes: from primitively fried in sugar caramel to exquisite puddings and sweet porridges, and about Filipino halo-halo ice cream made from a strange neither vegetable nor fruit called ube. Ube gives the ice cream an amusing purple color, while pieces of fruit, sweet beans (!), little gummies, and condensed milk provide an unforgettable taste, and crushed ice provides cold. Because of the last ingredient, a European should approach halo-halo with caution: God forbid the ice was frozen from raw water!
And they eat differently in these neighboring states. In Indonesia, as in the entire Muslim world, it is customary to eat mostly with hands. Food is served, for greater national color, on wide banana leaves. In the Europeanized Philippines, it is with spoon and fork. Moreover, with both at once, in both hands. Which may look funny, childish, but, if you think about it, is surprisingly convenient.
Battle of champions
But, of course, the main peculiarities show themselves when it comes to the main dishes of the national menu. In Indonesia, these are gado-gado (a spicy vinaigrette of roasted vegetables), meat stew gulai (usually in a sauce based on peanuts or coconut milk), satay skewers, peculiar bami omelettes, babote meatballs, and, of course, the undisputed favorite - nasi goreng, fried rice with meat and vegetables. Naturally, it is spicy - but delightfully tasty, and its spiciness protects you from the risk of catching some nasty gastrointestinal infection!
There are plenty of other endemic dishes: from meat (chicken, beef, less often lamb and goat), fish, and, to a lesser extent, vegetables and root crops. More and more fried or stewed - these are the two main culinary techniques of the local gastronomic tradition.
In general, the main principle of Indonesian cuisine is as follows: either one dish and many condiments for it, or many different dishes under one condiment. "One condiment" - not counting the indispensable soy sauce and sambal, without which they don't even sit down at the table. As a result, we get an amazing variety of dishes - even under the same name, the taste can differ radically!
In the Philippines, the key word is meat. Obviously, the islanders lived poorly for so long that it became almost a national fetish, and meat sales today break all records. Moreover, meat is predominantly pork - here Chinese, Polynesian, and Spanish traditional cuisines successfully merged. And what fiestas they have in Manila - Madrid takes a back seat!
The main dish at such fiestas is lechon, a suckling pig roasted whole over coals. It is usually served with a liver sauce, and the carcass is sometimes stuffed with tamarind leaves.
But if you ask the average Filipino what his favorite dish is, he will surely answer: "Adobo". That is, pieces of chicken, pork, sometimes fish or squid, marinated and thoroughly coated in soy sauce with spices. Although this same average Filipino, most likely, more often consumes bulalo (a soup made from beef marrow bones with vegetables, in which aesthetes most of all value the brains themselves) and pancit (noodles with pieces of pork, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, various vegetables, and God knows what else). The latter dish is of Chinese origin, but uniquely Filipino in taste. One or two bowls of pancit replace a full meal, and you are guaranteed not to stay hungry, and in the "gourmet" sense you will not be disappointed.
Sheer exotic
A European tourist expects from any Asian country some kind of inedible culinary exoticism.
In Indonesia, for culinary extreme one should go to Bali. There the influence of Islam is felt to a lesser extent, and ancient gastronomic traditions to a greater extent. Therefore, if lucky, you can try rat meat, bat, dog meat, and even (oh, horror of a devout Muslim!) pork. And a land shrimp - grasshopper. Also not halal, "permitted" from the point of view of any Muslim.
In some publications, I have come across references to the fact that in certain areas of Java and Sumatra, natives eat a special kind of clay. It is allegedly cleaned, baked, then cut into pieces and fried over coals. Or even make jam from such clay by mixing it with fruit juice. I don't know, I'm not sure - I haven't encountered it myself, I haven't heard reliable evidence, I haven't read anything like that in reputable sources. Most likely, in the first case, it is still about tahu, a paste of fermented soybeans - it really is prepared with the use of lime, and the result is a product with a distinctly clayey appearance and taste. Jam, in our understanding of the word, is practically not found on the Indonesian islands at all. The closest analogue is lantak, fried pieces of various fruits dipped in sugar syrup.
Filipinos also have something to boast about. One of their favorite dishes, which causes complete disgust among unprepared Europeans, is called balut. It is of Chinese origin. But if the Chinese limit themselves to duck eggs, "preserved" by burying in the ground for several months or even years - that is, in our opinion, at least slightly rotten (black transparent white, green yolk, taste - specific), then the Philippines went further. And they eat eggs with already formed embryos. Such eggs, in fact, are called balut and are a very popular delicacy in the island country. And also an unsurpassed aphrodisiac and almost the best beer snack - according to the islanders themselves, of course. The pedicab vendors of balut, who serve eggs boiled, are a characteristic feature of most Philippine cities.
And there is also dog meat, frogs, and large snails (the last two points would hardly surprise a European, if only they were not cooked in an Asian, or rather Filipino manner), buffalo or ox meat... In short, again a "draw". And the judges' verdict: wherever you go, to Bali or Luzon, to Jakarta or Manila, you will not remain hungry. And indifferent to local culinary delights - either.