Spiced Chicken Soup

June 8, 2016

Soto ayam is an Indonesian chicken soup with deep Southeast Asian notes. The chicken is cooked into a rich stock together with raw king prawns, and the finished soup is then lifted with a spice paste of macadamia nuts, shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and chilli.

The soup belongs to the same family as Indonesian and Malaysian soto — chicken soup made thicker and yellower with nut paste and turmeric, and served with something crisp on top. Here that is thin, deep-fried potato slices instead of the perkedel potato dumplings or crispy onions found in the classic versions.

It works as a standalone main course. The stock carries the flavour, the spice paste gives it character, and the crispy potatoes break up the texture. The bean sprouts stay just the right amount of crunchy if they only get three minutes in the hot soup.

Ingredients

Serves 4–6

1½ l water
1½ kg chicken, jointed into 4 pieces
4 raw king prawns
2 macadamia nuts, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
turmeric, a pinch
chilli powder, a pinch
vegetable oil, for frying
1 tbsp light soy sauce
75 g bean sprouts
1 potato, peeled and sliced thinly
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Directions

Stock

Bring the water to the boil in a large pot. Add the chicken pieces and raw prawns, season with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer gently for 40 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside just over 1 litre. Pull the chicken meat off the bone in bite-sized pieces and roughly chop the prawns.

Spice paste

Blend the macadamia nuts, shallots, garlic, and ginger to a coarse paste in a blender or food processor. Stir in the turmeric and chilli powder. Alternatively, pound it in a mortar if you prefer a more rustic texture.

Assembling the soup

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the spice paste and fry briefly, stirring, until fragrant. This takes under a minute — it must not scorch.

Pour about 300 ml of the stock into the pan along with the soy sauce, chicken, and prawns. Simmer for 10 minutes so the paste blends into the soup.

Add the remaining stock and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the bean sprouts and cook for 3 minutes more so they warm through without losing their crunch.

Potatoes and serving

While the soup simmers, heat a generous amount of oil in a small pan. Fry the potato slices until golden and crisp — they should be very thin and resemble crisps. Drain on kitchen paper and season with a little salt.

Serve the soup piping hot in deep bowls with the crispy potato slices on top.

Notes

Active time about 20 minutes, total time around 1½ hours.

Macadamia nuts can be replaced with unsalted cashews if you do not have macadamia. They add the same creamy richness to the spice paste.

The crispy potato slices can be fried ahead of time and warmed briefly in the oven just before serving. If they turn soft in the soup, the dish loses its contrast.