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.

Soto Ambengan

Another favorite menu, soto. This soto is famous not only in its origin, Surabaya, East Java. But also all over Indonesia. The difference of this soto compares to the other is, the use of koya (crushed shrimp crackers). It is really a good stuff I'm telling you. Do not skip the crushed crackers, if it is hard for you to find it in your grocery store, try to search at the nearest Asian Store in your city. They might have it.

Ingredients

- 1 free range chicken (Indonesian: ayam kampung), cut into 6

- 2  liter water

- 3  lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), bruised and knotted

- 10 kaffir lime leaves (Indonesian: daun jeruk)

- 2 tablespoon oil

- Salt n pepper

- 1 tsp sugar

Grind the following into spice paste

- 12  shallots

- 6 cloves garlic

- 6 candlenuts, pan roasted

- 4 cm of fresh turmeric, pan roasted

- 2 cm ginger

Koya (shrimp crackers powder), grind the following together

- 4 large shrimp crackers 

- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped, deep fry until crispy and golden brown

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

  

Garnish and accompaniments

100 gram glass noodle

100 gram cabbage

100 gram bean sprout (optional)

4 hard boiled eggs

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 bunch Chinese celery, thinly sliced

lime wedges

boiled chili sauce

Instructions
Soto
1. Boil the chicken and water, simmer for at least 30-45 minute
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, and sauté spice paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, until fragrant. Transfer the cooked spices into the chicken soup
3. Season the soup with salt, pepper and sugar
4. Turn off the heat, remove the chicken from the soup, tear the meat into small shreds with your hands. Set the chicken meat aside.

Garnish and accompaniments
1. Soak the glass noodle in cold water until soften, then blanch in boiling water until fully transparent.
2. Thinly slice the cabbage to make cabbage shreds, then blanch in boiling water.
3. Wash the bean sprout, then blanch in boiling water

To serve
1. Arrange boiled glass noodle, cabbage, chicken meat, and egg in a serving bowl. Top with some soup and some koya. Garnish with sliced scallion and Chinese celery. Serve with boiled chili sauce and lime wedges.

Soto Kudus

Kudus is a small town in Central Java, Indonesia. So, soto Kudus, like any other soto with the town name after soto, came from Kudus. It is basically a Kudus style chicken clear soup. Lets just jump to the recipe, trust me, this soto is really worth the effort. Super delicious!

SOTO KUDUS
Adapted from Diah Didi

Ingredients

- 1 free range chicken (Indonesian: ayam kampung), cut into 4

- 2 liter water

- 3 bay leaves

- 2 lemongrass, bruised
- 3 keffir lime leaves

- salt and pepper

- 1 tsp of coconut sugar (Indonesian : gula merah)

Grind the following into spice paste

- 10 shallots

- 4 cloves garlic 

- 6 candlenuts, pan roasted until a little bit brown-ish

- 1 tsp ground coriander, pan roasted (appx 1 minute)

- 1/4 tsp ground cumin, pan roasted (appx 1 minute)

- 1 cm turmeric 

- 2 cm ginger

- 3 tablespoon sweet soy sauce

Garnish and accompaniments

- bean sprouts

- 2 scallions, thinly sliced

- 1 bunch Chinese celery, thinly sliced

- lime wedges

- 4 garlic, thinly sliced. Sprinkle with a little salt and then deep fried until crispy

- boiled chili sauce, made from boiled chili, a little squeeze of lemon, and water. Blend together 

- quail egg satay

- potato patty

- fried tempeh

Instructions :

Soto

1.  Boil together chicken and water, simmer for at least 30 minutes

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, and sauté spice paste, bay leaves, keffir lime leaves and lemongrass until fragrant. Transfer the cooked spices into the chicken soup.

3. Season the soup with salt sugar and ground pepper. Add the sweet soy sauce.  Mix well.

4. Turn off the heat, remove the chicken from the soup, remove the bones and tear the meat into small shreds with your hands. Or else, deep fry the chicken just a few minutes then shreds. 

Garnish and accompaniments

1. Soak the bean sprouts in a boiling water about 30sec. Refresh under cold water, drain, and set aside.

2. In a different pan, boil the hard boiled quail eggs with the soto water. Add 1-2 tbsp of sweet soy sauce. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Let cool

To serve

1. Arrange boiled bean sprout, chicken meat, sliced scallion and celery in a serving bowl.Top with some soup. Garnish with sliced scallion, Chinese celery and fried garlic. Serve with boiled chili sauce, lime wedges and accompaniments. 

Soto Bandung

My mother comes from West Java, Bandung to be precise. So in our home, my mom used to make lotsa sundanese style food. They are amazing! You know, if javanese food is famous for the sweet taste, sundanese food is mostly savory and a bit spicy. And this clear soup is one of my family's favorite. No hassle. You don't even need to grind the ingredients. All you gotta do is smash the ginger, garlic etc with the side of your knife or smash it a little with pestle. Simple isn't it? Yet the taste is sooo good. Light and full of flavour.

Btw, Indonesia as an archipelago country, it has so many different cultures, tribes, and of course food. Including soto, it will easily recognize by the name mentioned after soto. For example, Soto Bandung. Of course its origin is from Bandung. Soto Betawi, comes from Betawi, Betawi/Batavia known as Jakarta now. Coto Makasar comes from Makasar, Soto Padang comes from Padang, West Sumatra, and so on.

Do give this Soto Bandung a try. This recipe is from my beloved mother. 


Ingredients :

500 gr shank beef, cut into 3x3 cm or according to your liking.
2,25 L water
8 cloves of garlic, mashed
3-4 cm of fresh ginger, mashed
4 cm galangal, mashed
2 lemongrass, mashed
3 bay leaves
2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil
2-3 tsp of salt
3/4 tsp ground pepper 
300 gr daikon, cut into about 0,5 cm circle


boiled chili sauce, boiled the following and the blend until smooth. 
-4 red cayenne chilies
-2 bird eye chilies
- juice from 1 lime
- salt 
- a pinch of sugar
- about 70-100ml of water

Garnish and accompaniments :

2 handfuls of soybean. Soaked into water about 30-45 minutes until it skin looks chipped. Drain with paper towel and deep fry until golden brown. Use low heat as they got dark easily, make sure the oil is hot.

1 bunch of scallion, thinly slice
1 bunch of chinese celery, thinly slice

sweet soy sauce (optional, I never use soy sauce for this soto, but some prefer adding a tsp or two of sweet soy sauce. Its your call)

HOW TO :
1. Bring to the boil the shank beef, and simmer for about 1 hour until the beef tender. Or else use pressure cooker to finish faster. 

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, sautee the mashed garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and bay leaves until fragrant. Transfer to beef soup.

3. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

4. Add the sliced daikon, bring to the boil and turn off the heat.

5. Serve with fried soybean, sliced celery, sliced scallion, sweet soy sauce and boiled chilies.

Sup Ayam Tauge Tahu

Yang ini saya yakin para mommies pasti pernah buat. Menu simpel banget tp jadi andalan di rumah. Anak2 suka banget!!! Sampe anak pertama saya yang anti tauge bisa makan lho, termasuk taugenya juga. Hihihih, tp diselip2in tentunya :D 

Apa sih istimewanya sup ini? Kalo menurut saya, krn simpelnya dan isinya yg komplit. Udah ada protein hewani dari ayam, protein nabati dari tahu. Dan saya pake 3 warna sayur. Orens dari wortel, putih tauge dan hijau dari daun bawang dan seledri. Biasanya sih, sup ini tidak menggunakan wortel, tp krn saya pengennya lbh berwarna dan sehat, dikasih wortel malah lbh enak lho.

Yang perlu diperhatikan dalam memasak sup ini adalah saat membuat kaldu. Biasanya saya menaruh setangkai seledri saat membuat kaldu, dan menggunakan api keciiiil sampe sktr 45mnt-1jam. Hasilnya nanti kaldunya wangi tenan!

Demikian resepnya ya :)


Untuk kaldu :
6 potong ayam (saya pakai paha atas dan bawah), lumuri dengan air heruk nipis lalu dicuci bersih
1 tangkai seledri
1,5 L air

Bumbu halus :
5 buah bawang merah
5 siung bawang putih
garam dan lada (sesuai selera)
2 sendok makan minyak goreng

Isi : 
4 buah wortel (saya pake wortel lokal), potong2
1 buah tahu putih, potong dadu sktr 2x2cm, goreng hingga berkulit
segenggam tauge (atau sesuai selera)
3 helai daun bawang, iris2
1 tangkai seledri, iris halus

Untuk taburan :
3 siung bawang putih, iris halus dan goreng hingga kecoklatan. sisihkan 

Cara :
1. Rebus ayam yang sudah dibersihkan, dengan api sedang. Setelah mendidih, masukkan seledri (tidak perlu diiris). Kecilkan api, masak hingga kaldu menjadi wangi, kurang lebih 45 mnt-1jam. Buang lemak2 yg mengambang di permukaan dengan menggunakan sendok sayur atau saringan halus. Besarkan kembali api.
2. Tumis hingga wangi bumbu halus, masukkan ke dalam kaldu
3. masukkan tahu yang sudah digoreng dan wortel, lalu setelah agak empuk masukan tauge.
Matikan api, masukkan irisan daun bawang+seledri dan bawang putih goreng

Zuppa soup

Dari dulu yang namanya bikin zuppa, cita2 banget deh, hahahahah. Padahal saya gak pernah bikin krim sup, cuma pernah nyobain yg instan aja. Jadi resep dan isinya pun menebak2, dari bahan yg ada dirumah aja. Cuma demi memuaskan hasrat penasaran dan supaya jadi bisa, saya buat juga. Menurut hubby, enak, walapun agak keasinan, hihihihihi. Saya soalnya gak bisa nyobain isinya si krim sup, secara daging ayam boneless dan juga ayam asap bertebaran dimana2 (saya lacto-ovo vegetarian, gak makan ikan, daging, ayam, seafood dkk, tp masih konsumsi dairy products). Jadi yg saya icip cuma kuahnya aja, yg tentu saja kurang mewakili isinya, belakangan baru ngeh, ayam asap kan juga sudah asin. Next time kalo buat lagi, harus kurangi garamnya sepertinya, supaya gak jadi zuppa pengen kawin :D

berikut resepnya : 

2 siung bawang putih, cincang halus

1 buah bawang bombay ukuran sedang, cincang

800ml air kaldu 

200 gr dada ayam boneless, dipotong dadu (dada boneless sudah saya masak malam sebelumnya di slow cooker, sekalian kaldunya saya ambil)

jamur champignon or kancing (saya pake yg kemasan sudah diiris, 200gr)

1 buah jagung, dipipil

2 lembar ayam asap, potong2 kotak 

1sdm margarine, untuk menumis

2sdm terigu

150 ml Krim kental

keju cheddar parut, secukupnya 

seledri, iris tipis

1. Tumis bawang putih cincang dan bombay dengan margarine sampai wangi, masukkan terigu, aduk2 rata. 

2. Masukkan air kaldu, aduk2

3. Masukkan dada, jamur dan jagung pipil, didihkan

4. Masukkan ayam asap 

5. Bumbui dengan garam, lada dan sedikit parutan pala

6. tuang krim kental, didihkan lagi 

7. beri parutan keju, sesuai selera

8. taburi irisan seledri

9. masukkan ke pinggan tahan panas, tutup dengan puff pastry, oles dengan kuning telur dan taburi dengan sedikit wijen.

10. Panggang di oven yg sudah dipanasi, sktr 20mnt sampai puff pastry kecoklatan

Overall, not bad for first time-ers, haha, silahkeun dicoba :D

boy's favorite

Punya dua anak cowo yg aktif dgn dua karakter berbeda, definately took me to the next level of motherhood *pheewww. Yg satu lincah, ceria, loud (suaranya kayak pake toa deh pokoknya), keras kepala daaaan sangat picky :(( Yg kedua, lbh easy going, serius, manis, keras kepala ada di level sama kayak kakaknya, alhamdulillah sampe saat ini, makannnya cukup ok. 

Waktu si adek masih blom setahun, makanan mereka jelas berbeda. Tp sekarang, demi mempermudah proses saya mempersiapkan makanan mereka, sebisa mungkin cari menu yg dua-duanya bisa makan.

Dan itu sangatlah tidak mudah *lap kringet lagi. Si kakak cuma mau sayur bayam, sawi sama wortel, adiknya sih masih lumayan, dia suka jagung, kol, kacang2an, kangkung, oyong juga mau. Nah krn list nya si kakak lbh pendek, terpaksa si adek seringnya ngikut menu kakaknya. Bayu suka sekali ikan, tp Satria, blom di rekomen untuk makan ikan oleh dsa nya, berkaitan dgn alerginya. Jadi kalo Bayu makan ikan, adeknya makan daging sapi or ayam. 

Nah ini, salah satu resep favorit mereka berdua nih, keduanya bisa makan, dan memang sukaaa banget!

Padahal simple banget, gak pake ribet, gak pake bumbu yg susah2...namanya sup ayam kembang tahu. Ini nih penampakannya. 

resepnya guampaang banget...aseli, bumbunya juga cuma 1 jenis : bawang putih!

Sup ayam kembang tahu 

Ayam 1/2 kg (saya pake paha bawah semua, pas adanya itu)

bawang putih 3-4 siung, digeprek

daun bawang 1 helai

kembang tahu secukupnya (saya pake yg kering)

Tahu putih secukupnya, potong2

sawi hijau 1 ikat

minyak goreng 2 sdm untuk menumis

garam, merica secukupnya sesuai selera

cara pembuatan : 

1. Ayam dicuci bersih dgn air jeruk nipis, rebus dgn air 1 liter, didihkan. Angkat lapisan lemak2 yg mengambang di permukan panci. Kecilkan api dan direbus sampai wangi, sampai sekitar 50menit. 

2. tumis bawang putih geprek dgn minyak sampai wangi, masukkan ke rebusan ayam

3. di panci lain, rebus kembang tahu, tahu dan sawi yg sudah dipotong-potong hingga lunak (saya selalu merebus kembang tahu dan sawi secara terpisah, krn mnrt saya kalau dicampur, bau kaldu ayamnya jadi lain), tiriskan

4. masukkan garam dan merica 

5. iris2 daung bawang, taburkan 

Sup ini rasanya light, tp enaaaak, kaldu banget. Anak2 suka berebutan makannya n i feel like the happiest mommy in the world, hahahahha. Apresiasi dari customer cilik itu sesuatu banget deh ;)