21 October 2017

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SOTO AYAM | SPICED INDONESIAN CHICKEN SOUP

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Soto Ayam is a chicken soup with a flavorful Indonesian twist! One of the favorite Indonesian food, it is perfect for the fall weather. It's easy to make, but the ingredients are quiet elaborate. However, it will be worth all your effort! 
Fall is my favorite time of the year. My favorite weather month is October! I love the mood, colors of the leaves, the change in temperature. I prefer colder temperature. However, the start of the fall weather hasn't been great here in The Netherlands. There have been quite a lot of wind together with rain which makes it cold and wet everywhere. A few days ago I was cycling home against the wind and rain. When I got home I only wanted to eat some hot chicken soup with rice. So the next day I went to the Asian supermarket to buy all the ingredients I need for Soto Ayam. 
I can't believe how seldom I make this soup considering how incredibly delicious it is! I think it's because to serve this soup it's quite an elaborate process. As I'm typing the recipes below, I just realized how much ingredients and toppings that are in it! And personally, it's actually a bit expensive to make this soup because the special spices I have to get from the Asian supermarket. If you live around Asia, with the bountiful of spice ingredients you should be making this soup every week!

But please, my friendly cooks who live in the west! Try to make this soup! It's sooo good and flavorful! Soto ayam (= chicken soto) is a chicken based soup broth. What's special here is the bit of tanginess from all the citrussy ingredients. The spices really enhance the chicken broth, not to mention the fun yellow-greenish color from the turmeric! Topping it with some tomatoes gives it some bite of freshness in the midst of this densely spiced broth. And an extra sprinkle of the lime juice really ties all the flavor together!



Resep Soto Ayam | Spiced Indonesian Chicken Soup Recipe: 
Serves 4 people (90 minutes)
Tools
  • Food processor
  • 1 large soup pan
  • 1 small soup pan
  • 1 non-stick pan
Ingredients
  • Large soup pan:
    • 2 liters cold water
    • 700 gr chicken carcass (see notes)
    • 250 gr chicken breast
    • 2 stalks lemongrass
    • 4 kaffir lime leaves
    • 3 bay leaves (daun salam)
    • 10 gr salt
    • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • Food processor:
    • 10 gr turmeric (kunyit)
    • 10 gr ginger (jahe)
    • 15 gr galangal (lengkuas/laos)
    • 5 candlenuts (kemiri)
    • 2 large shallots
    • 5 cloves garlic
    • 1/2 tablespoon sunflower oil
  • Small soup pan:
    • 500 ml water
    • 100 gr glass noodle (so-oen)
  • Toppings:
    • sliced spring onion
    • celery leaves
    • tomato slices
    • boiled eggs
    • a quarter slice of lime
    • bean sprouts (optional)
    • fried shallot (optional)
    • chili slices (optional)
Method
  1. Start to cook all the ingredients for the large soup pan on medium heat, leave to cook to a simmer. 
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the ingredients for the food processor and grind until they becomes a gritty paste. It should have a  fun yellow color!
  3. Heat up the non-stick pan and add the paste, with medium heat stir continuously and cook for about 5 - 7 minutes until it's soft and fragrant. Add the paste to the soup pan and mix well. Let simmer for another 30-45 minutes. Take a taste in between, you'll know when the spice goodness is infused in the broth!
  4. After 20 minutes, take out the chicken breast, shred or chop the chicken to tiny pieces. Return to the soup or fry a few of them for some crispy chicken (see notes). 
  5. On a small soup pan, bring the water to boil and add the the glass noodles, cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Drain and set aside for serving. Using the same pan, boil the eggs. 
  6. Prepare the rest of the toppings.
  7. When you are ready to serve, remove the chicken carcass, lemon grass stalks, kaffir limes and bay leaves and discard. 
  8. Divide the cooked glass noodles on 4 soup bowls. Add in generously the soto ayam broth. Add the toppings. Before eating, sprinkle the soup with some lime juice.
Notes
  • This soup can definitely be eaten as is, but I usually eat it with a side of cooked rice and fried chicken. Recipe for the fried chicken coming up soon on the blog!
  • If you want some crunchy texture, set aside some of the shredded chicken and fry them to golden crisps.
  • There's usually also Sambal on the side, but since I was too lazy to make one I added chili slices in the soup. Remove the seeds form the chili if you're not used to the heat.
  • I bought raw chicken carcass from a poultry stall in one of the markets here in Holland. They are called soepkip (=soup chicken). I had a small piece of the neck, bones from the chicken breast and thighs. I think it is something that you can order from your local butcher shop. If the carcass is not available where you are, it can be substitute with a few pieces of chicken wings


26 comments:

  1. This looks delicious and exactly the type of comforting recipe I'd love to eat at this time of year. I'm craving it now!

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  2. This soup is perfect for all of these cold evenings.

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  3. This looks absolutely delicious, perfect for this chilly weather!

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  4. I love chicken soup, especially in the winter. This looks like amazing comfort food

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  5. I've never had a soup like this before, but this looks so good. I must try this soon.

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  6. This looks like a dish I would love to try, this looks so delicious. I'm going to have to give it a try!

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  7. Omg this looks soo yummy :D - Trang Tran

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  8. Yeah it does seem very elaborate. But I bet it is delicious so I will make it when I get the chance.

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  9. That must have been a difficult ride home in the storm. This soup has so many ingredients and it looks like it is worth the effort to make.

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  10. Wow.. This looks really good..i would love to try this!

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  11. Wow. That's a lot of flavor in that chicken soup. Perfect timing for fall cooking and holidays. Looks pretty tasty.

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  12. This chicken soup sounds and looks sooo good! I've never tried Indonesian cuisine before, but hoping to try it really soon as it looks really tasty

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  13. I love chicken and this spiced chicken soup looks deadly delicious. Just imagine you are enjoying some hot chicken soup when it's cold, it must be perfect. Thanks for your sharing this amazing recipe.

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  14. Wow, I just arrived from Indonesia and I wanted to introduce some Indonesian cuisines to my friends. This post is very timely. I will try this soon.

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  15. Chicken sound is definitely a comfort food. Your pictures are so vibrant it gives this recipe an exotic feel.

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  16. This looks so delicious and full of flavor. I like the addition of the egg. Thanks for sharing!

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  17. This looks amazing! I love southeast Asian food and the egg with a spicy soup would just be my favorite. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. Although this is definitely not something I would eat - my father in law would and he would be thrilled if I took the time to make this for him so I may try - very soon!

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  19. I have never tried Indonesian cuisine but this recipe looks so wholesome and delicious. Would love to make it on the weekends :)

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  20. What a great recipe! I've never had Indonesian food. It sounds so good, worth a try!

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  21. I've never had Indonesian cuisine but this looks and sounds absolutely amazing!

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  22. Oh wow this looks really yummy! What a great recipe to have, I will have to try it out!

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  23. I have always love a hearty Soyo Ayam. Your recipe look absolutely delicious and love the colors as well. :)

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  24. Soto Ayam is something I have never heard of. I do like spicy things though and this sounds like something I would like.

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  25. Yes! This looks absolutely amazing for this weather. And i have all the ingredients I need…besides candlenuts. Where do you get those in the us?

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  26. This piece of writing is actually a pleasant one it assists new the web
    viewers, who are wishing for blogging.

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