Saoto

Ingredients

Broth

• 1chicken, whole or jointed
• 2.5 litreswater
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 3cm ginger
• 2 stalkslemongrass, bruised
• 5kaffir lime leaves
• 3salam leaves
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• salt

Bumbu

• 6shallots
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 3candlenuts
• 1 tspcoriander seed
• 2 tbspoil

Toppings

• 200 gbean sprouts, blanched
• 3eggs, hard-boiled and halved
• 300 gpotatoes, thinly sliced and fried crisp
• the shredded chicken, fried
• crisp fried shallots
• spring onions
• celery leaf

To serve

• steamed rice, on the side
• sambal
• kecap manis
• a wedge of lime

Directions

1. Simmer the chicken with the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, salam leaves, turmeric and white pepper for about an hour. Skim the broth carefully throughout. Skim it properly. Saoto broth should be clear and pale gold, and a cloudy one has been boiled too hard or not skimmed.
2. Keep it at a bare simmer rather than a boil, for the same reason. Lift the chicken out, strain the broth, and shred the meat off the bones. Candlenuts are mildly toxic raw and must be cooked, which frying the paste does.
3. Fry the bumbu in oil for 6 to 8 minutes until fragrant and the oil separates. Wait for the oil to split from the paste, which is the sign the aromatics are cooked rather than raw. Stir the fried bumbu into the strained broth and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Taste the broth and season it well, because it is thin and every fault shows. It should be clearly savoury and aromatic with lemongrass and lime leaf, and light rather than rich.
5. Fry the shredded chicken in a little oil until the edges crisp, then season it. Slice the potatoes very thinly and fry them until crisp and golden, then drain and salt them.
6. Fry them properly crisp, like a chip, because they are added at the last second and their crunch against the broth is the point. Blanch the bean sprouts for 20 seconds only and refresh them in cold water.
7. Put a handful of bean sprouts in each bowl, then the fried chicken, then half an egg. Ladle the hot broth over each bowl. It softens within a minute in the broth, and that is exactly why it is added last. Serve a bowl of steamed rice alongside rather than in the soup. Put sambal, kecap manis and a lime wedge on the table.

Technique

• Saoto is often served as a full plate with rice, sometimes called saoto schotel.
• The Dutch-Surinamese community made it familiar across the Netherlands.
• The broth can be made a day ahead and improves.

Substitutions

• Macadamia nuts in place of candlenuts.
• Bay leaves for salam leaves, which is not the same but is the usual substitute.

Variations

• Served as saoto schotel, a full plate with rice.
• Soto ayam, the Indonesian original.
• With extra fried potato, which many people ask for.

History

A Javanese-Surinamese version of Indonesian soto, adapted with fried potato, egg and beansprouts by Javanese workers who came from 1890.

Frequently asked questions

What is Saoto?

Saoto is a soup & stew from Suriname: javanese-Surinamese chicken broth with bean sprouts, egg, crisp shallots. A Javanese-Surinamese version of Indonesian soto, adapted with fried potato, egg and beansprouts by Javanese workers who came from 1890.

How long does Saoto take to make?

Saoto takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Saoto?

Yes, within limits. Macadamia nuts in place of candlenuts. Bay leaves for salam leaves, which is not the same but is the usual substitute.

What is the most important thing to get right in Saoto?

Keep it at a bare simmer rather than a boil, for the same reason. Lift the chicken out, strain the broth, and shred the meat off the bones. Candlenuts are mildly toxic raw and must be cooked, which frying the paste does.