Soto Ayam

The subtle and comforting flavours of soto ayam provide a much-needed balance to the richness of other traditional Malay dishes.The comforting, subtle flavours of soto ayam are a nice break from the intensity of flavours and decadence in most Malay dishes. It is traditionally served with ketupat and beef patties (bergedil) on the side.

Serving: 8 people
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Cooking Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, washed and cleaned
1 inch galangal, bruised
4 stalks lemongrass, bruised
8 cloves
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
8 cardamom pods
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tsp salt
½ cup coconut milk (santan cair)
8 cups water

Ingredients to blend:
2 large onions
3 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds

Accompaniments:
1 cup suhun (glass noodles), deep-fried
2 cups of bean sprouts, cleaned and tailed
1 handul of bird's-eye chillies (pounded coarsely and mixed with 2 tbsp sweet soya sauce and 1 tsp vinegar)
Nasi Impit
2 stalks Chinese celery, sliced finely
2 stalks spring onions, sliced finely
½ cup crispy fried shallots

Ingredients for bergedil (beef patties):
5 large potatoes (skinned, sliced thickly and deep-fried)
1 cup minced beef
2 tsp white ground pepper
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated
3 garlic cloves, sliced finely
15 shallots, sliced finely
1 stalk Chinese celery, sliced thinly
1 stalk spring onions, sliced thinly
2 cups of oil for deep-frying

Method for soto ayam:

1. Boil the water in a huge pot.

2. Pour all the above ingredients as well as the blended items into the pot of boiling water to form the soto soup.

3. As soon as the chicken is cooked thoroughly, remove it from the boiling soup and place it on a baking tray. Turn off the flame for the soup.

4. Roast the chicken for approximately 45 minutes to an hour in an oven preheated to 190°c.

5. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to cool for about 40 minutes, then shred it into strips.

6. Serve the soto soup with the accompaniments, shredded chicken and beef patties (bergedil).

Method for bergedil:

1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the bergedil, except the egg white.

2. Mash them until all the ingredients are combined.

3. Shape the mixture into patties about 1½ inches in diameter, dip them into the egg white and deep-fry until golden brown.

4. Lift from the oil and drain. Serve with soto ayam.

*If you'd like to share your recipe with other cooking enthusiasts, send them to [email protected].