Soto Betawi
The beef soup of the Betawi, Jakarta’s original people, with a creamy broth of coconut milk and milk, spices, potatoes, tomato and fried onion.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef shin
- 400 ml coconut milk and 200 ml milk
- 4 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 1 piece of ginger, 1 of galangal, 2 macadamia nuts
- 1 teaspoon each of coriander, cumin and nutmeg
- 2 kaffir lime leaves and 1 lemongrass stalk
- 2 potatoes, diced and fried
- 2 tomatoes
- Fried onion, lime and sambal
How to make it at home
- Simmer the beef in 1.5 litres of water for 1½ hours. Dice it and keep the broth.
- Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, nuts and spices, and fry the paste.
- Add the paste to the broth with the kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass.
- Stir in the coconut milk and milk and heat without letting it boil hard.
- Put the meat and potatoes in bowls, cover with the broth and finish with tomato, fried onion, lime and sambal.
The trick: Cow’s milk alongside the coconut milk is the hallmark of the Jakarta version.