Soto Ayam. Traditionally Indonesian soups are referred to as “Soto” and “Ayam” means chicken. Here is a hearty chicken soup that has a broth rich in flavor yet light on the stomach. When I tried this for the first time it spelt out warmth effortlessly. With the fluctuating weather here in UAE in the past week, all of you under the weather can find comfort in this one bowl. This dish is popular in many south East Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia too. The main ingredients consist of an aromatic base curry paste made with raw turmeric, that gives it a bright yellow color, blended along with ginger, galangal, cumin, shallots, garlic cloves, coriander seeds and lime juice. Adding on to this is the coconut milk for a tropical touch with bruised lemongrass chunks and kafir lime leaves that simmer along to give this chicken broth its citrusy flavor. The rice noodles along with assorted condiments as toppings like fried onion, sprouted beans, sliced cabbage, sliced onion rings, boiled egg and lime wedge on the side, compliment the dish with its the layered texture. It can be served as a small portion appetizer or in a large boil as a main course meal in itself. This broth can also be replaced with some rice in place of rice noodles.
My family is not a big fan of the processed rice noodle that we get at Asian groceries so I used the fresh Indian rice noodle called idiappam, which is easily available at any Indian supermarket. Turned out yumm!
Let’s get started:
1. Boil the rice noodles as per the packet instructions and keep aside.
2. In a chutney grinder jar, add 4-5 shallots, 4cloves garlic, 1tbsp lime juice, 1tsp coriander seeds, 1tsp cumin seeds, 2inch piece turmeric peeled-sliced, 1inch galangal peeled-sliced, 1inch ginger peeled-sliced.
3. Grind all the curry paste ingredients to a smooth paste. ( add some water if required)
4. In a mixing bowl, add a tsp of the ground base curry paste. Toss in the boneless chicken chunks. Mix and marinade for at least 5-10 mins.
5. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and fry the chicken chunks till light golden marks appear. (You can skip this step and add the chicken directly to the soup broth. But stir frying chicken will give extra taste)
6. In a saucepan, heat 2tbsp oil. Add the curry paste and sauté for 2-3mins.
7. Add bruised lemongrass stalks, 3-4kafir lime leaves, sliced red chillies, 1cup coconut milk and 1&1/2 cup chicken stock. Add the stir fried chicken chunks. Check seasoning, and add salt if required. Bring the broth to a rolling boil. (If you haven’t stir fried the chicken, add raw chicken chunks to the broth and boil now). Soto Ayam ready to serve. Keep aside.
8. Assemble the Soto Ayam bowl by placing some rice noodles in a flat bowl, topped with some finely sliced cabbage, sprouted beans, and sliced spring onion white and greens. Pour some broth over this along with chicken chunks. Top it with some fried onion crisps, half a boiled egg, some chilly slices(optional) and a lemon wedge.
Ingredients
- For the base curry paste(grind together)
- Shallots-4-5(medium)
- Garlic- 4cloves
- Lime juice- 1tbsp
- Coriander seeds- 1tsp
- Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
- Turmeric- 2inch piece(peeled and sliced)
- Galangal- 1inch piece(peeled and sliced)
- Ginger- 1inch piece(peeled and sliced)
- To stir fry chicken:
- Chicken- 400gms(boneless)
- Base curry paste- 1 tsp
- To boil in the broth:
- Lemongrass- 1stalk(cut in 4 chunks and lightly bruised)
- Kafir lime leaves- 4-5 leaves
- Chicken stock- 1 and 1/2cup
- Coconut milk powder- 1cup
- Fresh red chilli- 1 sliced
- Salt to taste:
- Rice noodles- 1 packet
- For toppings
- Crispy Fried onion
- Spring onion- 2 stalks(sliced)
- Fresh red chili- sliced(optional)
- Cabbage- (finely sliced)1 cup, more if required
- Sprouted bean- 1 cup, more if required
- Rice noodles or Idiappam-1 packet
Directions
- 1Boil the rice noodles as per the packet instructions and keep aside. I used fresh (Indian rice noodles) so you can just steam it before serving.
- 2In a chutney grinder jar, add 4-5 shallots, 4cloves garlic, 1tbsp lime juice, 1tsp coriander seeds, 1tsp cumin seeds, 2inch piece turmeric peeled-sliced, 1inch galangal peeled-sliced, 1inch ginger peeled-sliced.
- 3Grind all the curry paste ingredients to a smooth paste. ( add some water if required)
- 4In a mixing bowl, add a tsp of the ground base curry paste. Toss in the boneless chicken chunks. Mix and marinade for at least 5-10 mins.
- 5Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and fry the chicken chunks till light golden marks appear. (You can skip this step and add the chicken directly to the soup broth. But stir frying chicken will give extra taste)
- 6In a saucepan, heat 2tbsp oil. Add the curry paste and sauté for 2-3mins.
- 7Add bruised lemongrass stalks, 3-4kafir lime leaves, sliced red chillies, 1cup coconut milk and 1&1/2 cup chicken stock. Add the stir fried chicken chunks. Check seasoning, and add salt if required. Bring the broth to a rolling boil. (If you haven’t stir fried the chicken, add raw chicken chunks to the broth and boil now). Soto Ayam ready to serve. Keep aside.
- 8Assemble the Soto Ayam bowl by placing some rice noodles in a flat bowl, topped with some finely sliced cabbage, sprouted beans, and sliced spring onion white and greens. Pour some broth over this along with chicken chunks. Top it with some fried onion crisps, half a boiled egg, some chilly slices(optional) and a lemon wedge. Voila Soto Ayam ready!
