Indonesians urged against fried food as cooking oil prices rise

A woman shops for cooking oil at a supermarket in Jakarta, on March 27, 2022. - Reuters

JAKARTA (Bloomberg): The party backing President Joko Widodo is urging Indonesians to start boiling, steaming and roasting food instead of frying them as the price of edible oil surges.

"The food today must showcase the cook's creativity, use local ingredients and can't use any cooking oil," said Wiryanti Sukamdani, an official at Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP, at a Monday food fair to showcase cooking methods without oil. The PDIP is the largest party in parliament.