About this recipe
Soto is a category, not a single soup, and nearly every region has its own. This is the turmeric-yellow Javanese chicken soto, clear and aromatic, built on a fried spice paste and served over vermicelli with shredded chicken, egg and fried shallots. It is a different animal from the coconut-rich soto Betawi of Jakarta or the dark, beefy coto Makassar of South Sulawesi.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total
- 105 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- Mild (heat added at the table)
Allergens Contains chicken, egg and tree nuts (candlenuts). Gluten-free if the noodles and sauces are gluten-free. Dairy-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The broth
- 1 whole chicken, about 3.5 lb (1.6 kg), or 6 bone-in thighs
- 4 qt (3.8 L) water
- 3 stalks lemongrass, bruised
- 4 daun salam (Indonesian bay leaves)
- 6 makrut lime leaves
- 2 in (5 cm) galangal, sliced and bruised
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) fish sauce or 1 tbsp salt, to taste
Bumbu (spice paste)
- 8 shallots
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 in (5 cm) fresh turmeric, sliced — not ground
- 1 in (2.5 cm) fresh ginger
- 5 candlenuts (kemiri)
- 1 tsp (2 g) ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) ground white pepper
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil, for frying the paste
To serve
- 7 oz (200 g) dried rice vermicelli (soun or bihun), soaked and drained
- 4 oz (115 g) bean sprouts, blanched 30 seconds
- 1/4 small cabbage, finely shredded and blanched
- 4 eggs, hard-boiled and halved
- 4 tbsp (20 g) crisp fried shallots
- 1 small handful celery leaves or scallion, chopped
- 3 limes, cut into wedges
- Sambal and kecap manis, at the table
Equipment
- Large stockpot, 6 qt (5.7 L)
- Blender or mortar and pestle
- Small frying pan
- Fine strainer
Method
- Put the chicken in the stockpot with the water, lemongrass, daun salam, lime leaves and galangal. Bring to a bare simmer, skimming for the first 10 minutes.
- Simmer gently 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the broth is fragrant.
- Lift out the chicken and cool. Strip the meat from the bones and shred it coarsely. Return the bones to the pot and simmer 20 minutes more, then strain the broth and discard the solids.
- Meanwhile, blend the shallots, garlic, fresh turmeric, ginger, candlenuts, coriander and white pepper to a smooth paste.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the paste, stirring, 6–8 minutes, until it darkens, smells sweet and the oil separates at the edges.
- Stir the fried paste into the strained broth. Simmer 15 minutes, then season with fish sauce or salt. The broth should be clear yellow and taste layered rather than merely salty.
- Divide the vermicelli, bean sprouts, cabbage and shredded chicken between six bowls.
- Ladle the hot broth over each bowl. Add half an egg to each, then scatter with fried shallots and celery leaves.
- Serve with lime wedges, sambal and kecap manis so each diner finishes their own bowl.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Soto Ayam sits in the Indonesia chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Indonesia chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.