🇮🇩 Indonesia · Jakarta (Batavia), Betawi cuisine
Soto BetawiJakarta beef soto
The Jakarta soto: beef and offal (tripe, lung, tendon, liver) in a thick, creamy broth of coconut milk and cow's milk, scented with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and makrut lime leaf, served with tomato, fried shallot, emping crackers and rice.
Origin and history
Soto Betawi is the soto of Jakarta's native Betawi people. Jawa Pos places its beginnings in the early 20th century, when Jakarta was Batavia, and describes it as shaped by Arab and Indian cooking, with coconut or fresh milk in the broth; a Good News from Indonesia article adds a Dutch influence on the milk. Kompas TV reports that a stall (Haji Yakub) has existed since 1948 and that before the 1970s sellers called it simply soto: the name 'Soto Betawi' became popular only in 1977.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 2 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 50 min
Ingredients
- 700 g1.5 lb beef brisket or shank, in one or two pieces
- 300 g10 oz beef offal: tripe, lung and tendon (or liver), cleaned; may be replaced by more beef
- 2 liters2 quarts water
- 12 shallots, for the paste
- 8 cloves garlic, for the paste
- 5 candlenuts (kemiri), for the paste; macadamias work
- 6 cm2 1/2 inches fresh ginger, for the paste
- 1 tsp ground coriander, for the paste
- 1 tsp ground white pepper, for the paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp mild curry powder, or a mix of ground turmeric, cumin and clove, to taste
- 3 tbsp neutral oil, for frying the paste
- 5 cm2 inches galangal, bruised
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
- 5 makrut lime leaves
- 3 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam)
- 150 ml2/3 cup thick coconut milk, added at the end
- 100 mlscant 1/2 cup whole cow's milk, added at the end; or use all coconut milk or all milk
- salt and a pinch of sugar, to taste
- 3 potatoes, halved, boiled and fried until golden
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 stalk spring onion, sliced
- fried shallots, emping (melinjo crackers), sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), sambal, lime wedges, pickles (acar) and steamed rice, to serve
Method
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1. Put the beef and the offal in separate pots, cover each with water, bring to a boil for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse. Return the beef to a clean pot with the 2 liters of water.
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2. Simmer the beef gently, partly covered, for about 1 h 30 min, until tender. Lift it out and keep the broth. Simmer the offal in its own pot of water until tender (the tendon takes longest), then drain.
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3. Blend the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, ginger, coriander and pepper with a little water into a smooth paste.
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4. Heat the oil and fry the paste with the curry powder over medium heat for 5 minutes, until it smells toasted and the oil separates. Add the galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves and bay leaves and fry for 1 minute more.
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5. Pour the fried paste into the beef broth, season with salt and a pinch of sugar, and simmer for 20 minutes.
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6. Cut the beef and offal into bite-sized pieces and return them to the pot. Lower the heat and stir in the coconut milk and the cow's milk. Heat through without letting the soup boil hard, or it can split, and taste for salt.
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7. Serve in bowls with fried potato, diced tomato, celery, spring onion and fried shallots. Pass round emping, sweet soy sauce, sambal, lime, pickles and rice.
Notes
- How it differs from the parent: the parent here is a plain turmeric beef soto with glass noodles. Soto Betawi is richer and creamier, with a coconut milk and/or cow's milk broth, beef and offal, and tomato, fried potato and emping instead of noodles.
- Sources disagree on the dairy: coconut milk, fresh milk or both are all found. Early versions are described as relying mainly on coconut milk or fresh milk, and a newer lighter version without coconut milk also exists. The amounts here are a starting point to taste, not a fixed ratio.
- Boiling the meat and offal separately gives a cleaner stock and lets you control the texture of each; the paste is fried in oil before being added to the broth.
- Some stalls serve it with just the meat and no offal, or with vinegar and sweet soy sauce at the table.
- Make ahead: keep the broth without the milk for up to two days; add the milk when reheating.
Adapted from Good News From Indonesia, Resep Soto Betawi Kuah Santan Sederhana (Chef Devina Hermawan) and JawaPos, Mengenal Soto Betawi: Sejarah, Cita Rasa dan Cara Penyajian.
At the festivals
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