Soto Betawi

I must admitt, I have less knowledge about soto. This dish is very popular in Indonesia. Almost each province or even state, have their special kind of soto. So hereby, I'm trying to introduce you to all the soto that I have tried. I'm trying to mastering in this field :D Hopefully it will help to introduce the variety of our cuisine, in this special case is : Soto. Soto is often considered as national dish and a comfort food. It served from every street corners until fine dining restaurants and luxurious hotels. It is actually contained broth, meat and vegetable. Best eaten when warm.

Today,  I am going to share the recipe for delicious soto. Soto Betawi, originally from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Its authenticity is actually the use of coconut milk, beef offal and potato cubes. But my hubby and I doesn't consume beef offal, so we use shank beef for this recipe.

SOTO BETAWI

Ingredients :
- 500gr shank beef, cut in cubes appx 3x3cm
- 2 potatoes, cut in cubes 
- 2 L water
- 500 ml thick coconut milk
- 3 lemon grass
- 4 bay leaves
- 3 cm galangal
- 6 keffir lime leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt
- pepper
- ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons of cooking oil

Grind the following into spice paste:
- 12 shallots
- 6 garlic
- 1,5cm turmeric
- 2cm ginger
- 3 red chilies
- 6 candle nut
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

Accompaniments :
- 2 scallion, thinly slice
- 2 tomato, remove the seed, cut into small pieces
- fried shallots
- melinjo cracker
- sambal rebus

Directions :
1. In a soup pot, bring to the boil water and beef, once its boiled, use small heat and let simmer for 1 hour or until the beef fork-tender. If you want to go the fastest way, use pressure cooker. 
2. Saute the spice paste with galangal, kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves and lemongrass until fragrant. Add to soup pot.
3. Add in the coconut milk, continuous stirring needed. 
4. Add the potato cubes, and let simmer for another 30-40 minutes.
5. Serve soto betawi in a bowl. Garnish with sliced scallion, tomato, fried shallots, kaffir lime and melinjo crackers.