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Alternative names | Sroto, Coto, Tauto |
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Course | Main course |
Place of origin | Indonesia [1] |
Region or state | Nationwide |
Associated cuisine | Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Netherlands, and Suriname (known as saoto) |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Various traditional Indonesian chicken, beef, or offal soups |
Variations | Rich variations across Indonesia |
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Indonesian cuisine Masakan Indonesia |
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Soto (also known as sroto, tauto, saoto, or coto) is a traditional Indonesian soup mainly composed of broth, meat, and vegetables. Many traditional soups are called soto, whereas foreign and Western influenced soups are called sop.
Soto is sometimes considered Indonesia's national dish, [2] as it is served from Sumatra to Papua, in a wide range of variations. Soto is omnipresent in Indonesia, available in many warungs and open-air eateries on many street corners, to fine dining restaurants and luxurious hotels. [3] Soto, especially soto ayam (chicken soto), is an Indonesian equivalent of chicken soup. Soto is regarded as an Indonesian comfort food [4] [5] [1] because it is always served warm and has a tender texture.
Because of the proximity and significant numbers of Indonesian migrants working and settling in the neighbouring countries, soto can also be found in Singapore and Malaysia, thus becoming a part of their cuisine.
Introduced to Suriname by Javanese migrants, it is part of the national cuisine of that country as well, where it is spelled saoto. [6]
In the Indonesian archipelago, soto is known by different names. In the local Javanese dialect, it is called soto, and the dish also reached Makassar where it is called coto. Soto is found to be most prevalent in Java, and suggested that the hearty soup was originated from that island, and over the years this dish branched off in an assorted array of soto varieties. [7]
Although soto was undoubtedly developed in the Indonesian archipelago and each region has developed its own distinctive soto recipes, some historians suggest that it was probably influenced by foreign culinary tradition, especially Hokkien Chinese. Denys Lombard in his book Le Carrefour Javanais suggested that the origin of soto was a Hokkien Chinese soup, caudo (Chinese : 牛草肚 ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī :gû-chháu-tō͘; lit.'beef tripe'), [8] popular in Semarang among Chinese immigrants during colonial VOC era, circa 17th century. [9]
Another scholar suggests that it was more likely a mixture of cooking traditions in the region, namely Chinese, Indian, and native Indonesian cuisine. [10] There are traces of Chinese influence such as the use of bihun (rice vermicelli) and the preference for fried garlic as a condiment, while the use of turmeric suggests Indian influence. Another example is soto betawi from Jakarta uses minyak samin (ghee), which indicates Arab or Muslim Indian influences. [11] Another historian suggest that some soto recipe reflects the past condition of its people. Soto tangkar, which today is a meat soup, was mostly made from the broth of goat rib-cage bones (Betawi:tangkar) in the past because meat was expensive, or the common population of Batavia were too poor to afford some meat back then. [12] Soto recipes has been highly localized according to local tradition and available ingredients, for example in Hindu-majority island of Bali, soto babi (pork soto) can be found, since Hindu Balinese prefer pork while beef is seldom consumed, they also do not share Indonesian Muslim halal dietary law that forbids the consumption of pork.
The meat soup dish influenced various regions and each developed its own recipes, with the ingredients being highly localized according to available ingredients and local cooking traditions. As a result, rich variants of soto were developed across Indonesia.
In 2018, soto was officially recognised by the Indonesian government as one of the country's five national dishes: the others are nasi goreng, sate, rendang, and gado-gado. [2] Also in 2018, soto is promoted in Asian Festival in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex during 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta as a dish that represent the diversity of Indonesia. With the theme "Unity in Diversoto" presented in the food court, visitors had the opportunity to samples various regional sotos of Indonesia, thus it has become visitors' favourite in Asian Festival during 2018 Asian Games. [13]
The spread of soto in Indonesian archipelago was followed by the localization of Soto's recipe, according to available ingredients and distinctive local taste. [9] As the result, myriad soto recipes and variations can be found throughout Indonesia.
Some sotos are named based on the town or region where they are created:
Other sotos are named based upon their chief ingredient:
The following accompaniments are often eaten alongside soto:
The meats that are most commonly used are chicken and beef, but there are also variations with offal, mutton, and water buffalo meat. Pork is seldom used in traditional Indonesian soto; however, in Hindu majority Bali, soto babi (pork soto) can be found. [32] The soup is usually accompanied by rice or compressed rice cakes ( lontong , ketupat or burasa ). Offal is considered as a delicacy: the rumen (blanket/flat/smooth tripe), reticulum (honeycomb and pocket tripe), omasum (book/bible/leaf tripe), and the intestines are all eaten.
Other ingredients of soto include soun alternatively spelled as sohun or bihun (rice vermicelli), mung bean sprouts and scallion. Common soto spices include shallots, garlic, turmeric, galangal, ginger, coriander, salt, candlenut, and pepper.
The colour, thickness and consistency of soto soup could vary according to each recipes. Soto can have a light and clear broth just like soto bandung, a yellow transparent broth (coloured with turmeric) like the one that can be found in soto ayam, or a rich and thick coconut milk or milk broth just like those in soto kaki or soto betawi.
Soto in Malaysia and Singapore has a certain expected clear-soup look made of chicken broth, with spicy taste mixed with rice cubes. [41] It seems that soto served there derived from common soto ayam type with a clear and slightly yellow-coloured broth, pretty much similar to East Javanese soto lamongan or soto madura. Like many dishes, it may have been brought into the country by the many Javanese migrants in the early 20th century.
Satay, or sate in Indonesian, is a Javanese dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. The earliest preparations of satay originated in Java, Indonesia. but has spread to almost anywhere in Indonesia, where it has become a national dish. Indonesian satay is often served with peanut sauce and kecap manis – a sweet soy sauce, and is often accompanied with ketupat or lontong, a type of rice cake, though the diversity of the country has produced a wide variety of satay recipes. It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries including Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It also recognized and popular in Suriname and the Netherlands. In Sri Lanka, it has become a staple of the local diet as a result of the influences from the local Malay community.
Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 17,508 in the world's largest archipelago, with more than 1,300 ethnic groups.
Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawns or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coconut curry soup or a broth seasoned with asam.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as rice noodles, wheat noodles and egg noodles.
Chinese Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of Chinese cuisine, and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients, such as kecap manis, palm sugar, peanut sauce, chili, santan and local spices to form a hybrid Chinese-Indonesian cuisine. Some of the dishes and cakes share the same style as in Malaysia and Singapore, known as Nyonya cuisine by the Peranakan.
Nasi goreng is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish, usually cooked with pieces of meat and vegetables. One of Indonesia's national dishes, it is also eaten in Malay-speaking communities in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and has gained popularity in Sri Lanka through migrations from the Indonesian Archipelago, in countries like Suriname via Indonesian immigrant communities, and in the Netherlands through its colonial ties with Indonesia. Nasi goreng is distinguished from other Asian fried rice preparations by its distinct smoky aroma, and caramelised yet savoury undertones of flavour. There is no single defined recipe for nasi goreng, and its composition and preparation varies greatly from household to household.
Peranakan cuisine or Nyonya cuisine comes from the Peranakans, descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays. In Baba Malay, a female Peranakan is known as a nonya, and a male Peranakan is known as a baba. The cuisine combines Chinese, Malay, Javanese, South Indian, and other influences.
Lontong is an Indonesian dish made of compressed rice cake in the form of a cylinder wrapped inside a banana leaf, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Rice is rolled inside a banana leaf and boiled, then cut into small cakes as a staple food replacement for steamed rice. The texture is similar to that of ketupat, with the difference being that the ketupat container is made from woven janur fronds, while lontong uses banana leaf instead.
Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java.
Serundeng refers to a spicy grated coconut side dish or condiment originated in Indonesia that is used to accompany rice. Serundeng may taste sweet or hot and spicy, according to the recipe variants.
Soto mie, Soto mi, or Mee soto is a spicy Indonesian noodle soup dish commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Mie means noodle made of flour, salt and egg, while soto refers to Indonesian soup. In Indonesia, it is called soto mie and is considered one variant of soto, while in Malaysia and Singapore it is called mee soto.
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Gulai is a class of spicy and rich stew commonly found in the Malay Archipelago. The main ingredients of the dish are usually poultry, goat meat, beef, mutton, various kinds of offal, fish, and seafood, as well as vegetables such as cassava leaves, unripe jackfruit, and banana stem.
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Madurese cuisine is the culinary tradition of the Madurese people from Madura Island in Indonesia. This cuisine is particularly well-known in the neighboring areas of East Java, as well as on the south coast of Kalimantan. As a leading salt production center in the Indonesian archipelago, Madurese dishes are often saltier compared to Eastern Javanese cuisine, although with significant Javanese influences.
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