Recep Soto Ayam

Soto Ayam.md

Soto Ayam (Javanese Chicken Soup)

Adapted from:

• Soto Ayam, from Coconut & Sambal, Lara Lee
• Indonesian Chicken Soup, from New York Times Cooking, Julia Moskin and James Oseland
• Opor Ayam, from New York Times Cooking, Tejal Rao and Retno Pratiwi

Ingredients

Stock / Base

• 3lbs chicken, quartered
• 3 lemongrass stalks, bruised, split, and tied in a knot
• 6-10 fresh kaffir lime leaves, bruised*
  • substitute: any lime or curry leaf, or fresh bay leaves
• 4-6 fresh leaves daun salam or bay leaves, bruised*
  • note: omit if only using bay leaves
• 1 stick cassia cinnamon, optional*
  • substitute: ceylon cinnamon sticks
• 2 inches galangal, peeled and cut into 1/8" slices, optional*
  • substitute: ginger
• 2 quarts water or chicken stock
• 1-2 tsp kosher salt

Bumbu (Paste)

• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• 1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds

• 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp anise seed

• 2-3 kaffir leaves, crushed and stems/veins removed, optional

• 4-6 leaves dried daun salam, crushed and stems/veins removed, optional*

  • substitute: dry bay leaves

• 1 stick cassia cinnamon, crushed, optional*

  • substitute: ceylon cinnamon stick

• 2 birds eye chilis, minced

  • note: with or without seeds, depending on your heat tolerance, or omitted entirely

• 2-3 banana shallots (the larger ones), minced

  • substitute: 5-6 Thai shallots (the smaller ones), minced

• 1-2 inches galangal, minced*

  • substitute: 1 inch additional ginger, minced

• 2 inches ginger, minced

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• 1-2 tablespoons fresh tumeric, minced

• Peanut oil (or any neutral oil)

• 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised, split, and tied in a knot

• 2-4 kaffir leaves, bruised and whole, optional

Others

• 1 package thin dried rice or mung bean noodles
• 1 cup pak choi, baby bok choy, or other asian green, chopped coarsely
• 1-2 handfuls bean sprouts
• lime juice and kosher salt to taste
• garnishes or accompaniments (see recipe for suggestions)

Recipe

Chicken and Stock

In a large pot, add the two quarts water, quartered chicken, salt, and aromatics.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for roughly 45min, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, then remove the chicken and set aside.

Note: depending on the chicken, foam/fat may accumulate on the surface of the broth, and can be easily skimmed and disposed of as desired.

Bumbu (paste)

Note: the paste we make here is used for flavoring the broth, but is ultimately discarded. As a result, don't feel too worried about obtaining a perfectly smooth paste. If anything, preparing by hand without a food processor allows crushing of the ingredients, which intensifies their flavor and scent, and imperfections are welcomed.

Mortar & Pestle (Cobek dan Ulekan) Method Using a mortar and pestle, first add the black peppercorns, coriander, cumin, and anise seeds, crushed daun salam, kaffir leaves and cinnamon, and chilis. Grind, breaking up the peppercorns and seeds, into as fine of a mixture as possible (you'll end up with some pieces of cinnamon and daun salam likely, that's fine). Set aside.

Working in batches, depending on the size of your mortar and pestle, crush and grind the minced shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal and tumeric. When I first mince these ingredients, I tend to put them in a bowl and mix them a bit as I go, so that when I crush them the flavors combine. You won't be able to get this fine enough to be a true paste, but you should be able to reduce the volume and increase the pungency.

Food Processor Method If using a food processor, you can simple chop the minced ingredients, and combine with the dry spices directly and pulse until relatively smooth. Depending on consistency, you may wish to add 1-2 tablespoons of lime juice or water. Set aside, and consider this a gentle reminder to wash your food processor immediately after use, since the tumeric will stain.

Cooking the Paste In a small to medium frying pan on medium heat, liberally add a neutral oil (or peanut oil) to coat the pan. First add the lemongrass and kaffir leaves, then the spice mixture, and saute for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the paste, stirring off and on for 10min, until fragrant and somewhat broken down. Too high heat will burn the paste, and too low heat will reduce the intensity while retaining sweetness, so aim for a medium to medium-low temperature. If I use a mortar and pestle, I will use a large sturdy rubber spatula to crush and press the paste into the sides of the pan as I stir.

Final Steps

Thin Rice/Bean Noodles Prepare the rice or mung bean noodles according to the package. I soak mine in room-temperature water for 10min and then strain and toss gently with oil and set aside. If the stock seems to have reduced too much, reserve 1-2 cups of the water to add to the stock.

Chicken Once warm or cool to the touch, remove all bones from the chicken and coarsely dice and then shred the meat.

Strain the paste, discarding aromatics and oil, and then add to the stock prepared previously (as well as any reserve water, as needed). Increase the heat to high to establish a boil, then reduce to medium heat and stir off and on for 10-15min.

Strain the aromatics and paste from the stock, and then return the stock to the pot. Add the chicken, rice noodles, chopped pak choi / bok choy / greens, and bean sprouts. Taste and season with lime juice, salt, etc. to taste.

Serving

Serve immediately, garnished as desired; some more common options include:

• lime wedges (cut in half, then quarters)
• crushed thai basil leaves (substitute mint, or as desired, celery leaf or cilantro)
• fried shallots or garlic (available in most Asian markets)
• a soft-boiled egg, split in half, if you want to get fancy
• steamed white rice (nasi putih), on the side or added to the bowl before serving the soup
• your preferred sambal