This is the best chicken soup, Indonesian chicken soup and my favorite chicken soup.
It just got extremely cold here in D.C.. I woke up this morning and this soup recipe was in my feed. I was so excited because the boredom of covid is really starting to get to me. My corporate catering business has been shut down for almost 2 years and the companies keep postponing returning to the office.
So! now I’m excited to make a new soup that is interesting and healthy. I gained a lot of weight over the holidays eating and drinking way to much.
What Is It?
Soto Ayam is a traditional Indonesian dish with lots of spices and aromatics. It is a flavorful chicken soup with lots of toppings like Vietnamese Pho. It is easy to make but takes quite a few ingredient and steps but it is also very economical and delicious.
Gather The Spices and Aromatics For The Best Indonesian Chicken Soup
The Dry Spices-no need to roast they will be tempered later
- 1.5 tsp fennel seed
- 1tbs coriander seeds
- 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp white peppercorns or ground white pepper (black pepper will work also just won’t be totally authentic but still very good.
- 3 green cardamoms
- 5 cloves
Grind to a powder
Aromatics
- 3 large shallots
- 2 Birdseye or Thai chilies
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 inch ginger
- 2 inch fresh turmeric or 1.5 tsp ground turmeric
Peel and roughly chop everything
Make and Temper the Paste
Simply blend aromatics to a paste, add the ground spices, and temper (fry) with a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Stir it constantly for a couple minutes until the oil starts to separate.
Make the broth
Dry Brine 3 or 4 leg quarters in about 2 tsp of salt. Just mix it with salt and let is sit for 30 minutes. Brown the leg quarters then add them to a stock pot and cover them with 12 cups of water. Add 2 stalks of lemongrass smashed and 3 star anise, 5 lime leaves, 2 cinnamon sticks. You can also add 1/3 cup of coconut milk for a full body broth.
Simmer for about an hour until the chicken is falling off the bone then remove chicken and spices. You can strain if needed, then add the paste and bring back to a boil. Check it for salt, I like to use vegetable seasoning (mushroom seasoning). This is a must for your pantry. It give lots of umami flavor and is a great substitute for MSG and salt. There are many brands at your Asian grocer or on Amazon
Shred the chicken and boil rice noodles, fresh or dried.
Create a bowl
Fill the bowl with noodles and the shredded chicken then add the condiments of your choice. My condiments
- Fried Shallots (you can buy them or make them Recipe)
- half hard boiled egg
- slice of lime ( I like this a lot in this soup, I don’t like it in Pho)
- Fried bean thread noodle
- chopped cilantro
- thinly sliced scallion
- chopped Thai chili or sliced jalapeño
- bean sprouts
Add the boiling hot broth and enjoy.
Try these other great Asian recipes
–Vietnamese Grilled Pork Salad
-Crispy Vietnamese Crepe with pork belly and shrimp
–South Indian Vegan Spicy Potatoes
Soto Ayam- Indonesian Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chicken cut up. I used 4 leg quarters cut into 2 pieces
- 2 tsp salt
Dry Spices
- 1.5 tsp fennel
- 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp corriander seeds
- 3 green cardamom whole
- 5 whole clove
Aromatics
- 3 large shallots
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 inches fresh ginger 2 tbsp
- 2 Thai chilies or Birdseye
- 1.5 tsp tumeric or 2 inches of fresh tumeric
The Broth
- 12 cups water
- 2 cinnamom sticks
- 2 lemongrass stalks smashed white part only
- 5 lime leaves
- 3 star anise
- 1/3 cup coconut milk
- pinch of sugar
- vegetable season prefered (see above) or salt to taste
The Finishing Touch
- dried or fresh rice noodles
- mung bean sprouts
- fried shallot (see link above to make your own or buy at Asian grocer)
- sliced lime (add to broth whole)
- chopped Thai chili
- chopped cilantro
- chopped scallion
- hard boiled egg (optional)
- fried bean thread noodles (optional) or shrimp crackers
- drizzle coconut milk (optional)
Instructions
- toss the chicken in the salt and let sit for 30 minutes
- grind all the dry spices, no need to roast.
- blend all the aromatics to a smooth paste. add the ground spices.
- temper (fry) the paste in a couple tablespoons of oil for a couple minutes until you see the oil separating
- Brown the chicken
- add chicken to 12 cups of water along with all the other broth ingredients except salt or vegetable seasoning. Simmer one hour until the chicken is nice and tender.
- strain broth, reheat strained broth and add the spice paste, pull chicken from the bone and shred. Test the broth for salt and add the vegetable seasoning (highly recommended) or salt.
- cook rice noodle and get other toppings ready
- add some chicken and rice noodle to a bowl.
- add the condiments of choice and laddle in the boiling hot broth. Has to be boiling because condement will cool it down.