Soto Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Noodle Soup)
Soto ayam is an Indonesian chicken soup built on a golden, turmeric-tinted broth. The spice paste of ginger, candlenuts, shallot and garlic is fried first, so the soup starts fragrant rather than raw. Galangal, lime leaves and lemongrass add a clean citrus edge. The cooked chicken is shredded and the bones go back in for a final boil, which keeps the broth rich. Each bowl is assembled with noodles, sprouts, egg and crisp potato.
Instructions
Grind the turmeric, pepper, candlenuts, ginger, shallots, garlic and salt together in a food processor to make a paste. Fry the paste in the cooking oil over low heat until it smells fragrant, then take the pan off the heat.
Put the chicken in a pot with the stock, the fried spice paste, galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass and bay leaves. Cook for at least 30 minutes, until the meat is tender. A pressure cooker will shorten this and give a better broth.
For the traditional method, bring the pot to a boil, cover it, switch off the heat and let it steep for 30 to 40 minutes. This leaves the meat especially tender.
Taste the broth and add a little salt or pepper if it needs it. Leave the chicken in the pot until the soup has cooled.
Lift out the chicken and pull the meat from the bones. Cut it into small bite-size pieces with a fork and knife and set it aside.
Return the bones to the soup, add the sliced green onion and bring it back to a boil just before serving. Serve over the shredded chicken, cabbage, bean sprouts, vermicelli, potatoes, tomatoes and eggs, topped with fried shallots.
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