1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp lime juice
200g (7 oz) dried rice vermicelli
coriander (cilantro) leaves, to serve
sambal oelek*, to serve
lime wedges, to serve
sea salt
Chicken stock:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 chicken thigh fillets
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
2 shallots, quartered
3 slices fresh ginger
3 makrut lime leaves
Spice paste:
1 stalk lemongrass, pale part only, finely chopped
6 small red Asian shallots (or 3 brown eschallots), roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4cm (1.5 inch) piece fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped (alternatively, use 1 tsp turmeric powder)
3cm (just over 1 inch) piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
To make the chicken stock, heat the vegetable oil in large stock pot over high heat. Season the chicken fillets with salt and sear in the pot for 2-3 minutes each side. Add the remaining stock ingredients and 8 cups of water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 45 minutes, skimming the surface every so often.
For the spice paste, blend the ingredients in a blender until smooth (add a couple of tablespoons of the chicken stock if the ingredients won’t blend properly).
Remove the chicken pieces from the chicken stock and set aside for later. Strain the broth and reserve. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred or roughly chop the meat.
To finish the broth, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the spice paste (keep the rest for another time in the freezer) and cook stirring for about a minute or until fragrant. Stir through the coconut milk and simmer for another 2 minutes. Then stir through the chicken broth and simmer for another 2 minutes. Then add the lime juice and season with salt to taste.
Soak the vermicelli noodles in hot water for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Drain and divide among serving bowls. Top with shredded chicken. Then ladle over the soup. Top with sambal oelek, coriander leaves and a lime wedge.
Notes:
– Sambal oelek is chilli paste available in the Asian section of the supermarket or from an Asian grocer.
Mee soto and soto ayam are both popular Indonesian noodle soup dishes that are essentially the same thing. The only difference is the type of noodle that is used in the dish. Soto ayam is made using rice noodles or Ketupat (boiled compressed rice cakes) whilst mee soto had yellow egg noodles, typically hokkien noodles added to the dish.
Soto ayam is a delicious, comforting and spicy chicken noodle soup that is chock full of turmeric, lemongrass, coriander and ginger. It is super hearty, super tasty, and the perfect chicken noodle soup if you find yourself coming down with something during the colder months!
You serve it alongside wedges of lime and sambal sauce for an added chilli kick!
Soto is a culinary category within Indonesia, it includes soupy dishes that are generally made from meat or vegetable broth. The disease also generally contains some sort of shredded meat like chicken, vermicelli noodles and soto is usually served with rice or with rice cakes!
My go to comfort food
I’ve made this quite some times now can’t its always great. It’s super easy and full of flavour. Definitely give it a try.