Padang food is the cuisine of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is among the most popular food in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is known across Indonesia as Masakan Padang (Padang cuisine, in English usually the simpler Padang food) after the city of Padang the capital city of West Sumatra province. It is served in restaurants mostly owned by perantauan (migrating) Minangkabau people in Indonesian cities. Padang food is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities and is popular in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. The term "Padang food" is often used to designate the whole culinary traditions of Minangkabau people. However, this term is seldom used in Minangkabau inland cities such as Bukittinggi — a culinary hotspot in West Sumatra where they refer to it as Masakan Minang or Minangkabau food, since there are differences between Nasi Padang of Padang and Nasi kapau of Bukittinggi.
Padang food is famous for its rich taste of succulent coconut milk and spicy chili. Minang cuisine put much emphasize in three elements; gulai (curry), lado (chili pepper) and bareh (rice). No traditional Padeang meal is complete without the three — spicy chili sauce; thick curry and perfect steamed rice. Among the cooking traditions in Indonesian cuisine, Minangkabau cuisine and most of Sumatran cuisine, demonstrate Indian and Middle Eastern influences, with dishes cooked in curry sauce with coconut milk and the heavy use of spices mixture.
Padang (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈpadaŋ]) is the capital of the province of West Sumatra in Indonesia. It is the largest city on the western coast of Sumatra. Before Indonesia's independence, Padang was one of the major cities in the Dutch East Indies and nowadays the fifth largest city in Sumatra behind Medan, Batam, Palembang and Pekanbaru. It has an area of 695 square kilometres (268 sq mi) and the population of 876,678 in 2013.
Padang is one of the cleanest big cities in Indonesia. Up to 2009, Padang has received the "Adipura" (cleanest and greenest city) award in the category of large city 17 times and the "Adipura Kencana" award 3 times.
Padang is exactly at the antipodes of Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
Since the 16th century Padang has been a trade centre. During the 16th and 17th centuries pepper was cultivated and traded with India, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In 1663 the city came under the authority of the Dutch and a trading post was built here in 1680. The city came under British authority twice, the first time from 1781 to 1784 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, and again from 1795 to 1819 during the Napoleonic Wars. Afterwards the city was transferred back to the Netherlands. Up to approximately 1780 the most important trade product was gold, originating from the gold mines in the region. When the mines were exhausted, the emphasis turned to other products such as coffee, salts and textiles.
Padang is an ethnic group in Sudan, a subgroup of the Dinka. They speak Padang, a Dinka language. Many members of this ethnicity are Christians. The population of this ethnicity exceeds 100,000.
Padang may refer to:
In Central African Republic
In Indonesia:
In Malaysia:
In Singapore: