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Soto (food)
Encyclopedia
Soto, sroto, tauto or coto is a common dish, found in many regional variations of Indonesian cuisine. It is a traditional soup mainly composed of broth, meat and vegetables. There is no clear definition of what makes a soto, but normally many traditional soups are called soto, whereas foreign and Western influenced soups are called sop. Soto is sometimes considered Indonesia's national dish
, as it is served from Sumatra to Papua, in a wide range of variations. Soto is omnipresent in Indonesia, available in many an open-air eateries and on many street corners.
Other sotos are named based on their chief ingredient:
The following accompaniments are often eaten alongside soto.
and beef
, but there are also variations with offal
, mutton, water buffalo
meat and pork
. The soup is usually accompanied by rice
or compressed rice cakes (lontong
, ketupat
or buras). Offal is a very common ingredient in soto, and 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 soon alternatively spelled as sohun (rice vermicelli), mung bean sprouts and scallion
.
Soto spices include shallot
s, garlic
, turmeric
, galangal
, ginger
, coriander
, salt
and pepper
.
Soto can have a clear broth, a yellow transparent broth (coloured with turmeric) or a milky coconut-milk broth.
Soto in Malaysia and Singapore is the clear chicken broth type. Like many dishes, it may have been brought into the country by the many Javanese migrants in the early 20th century.
National dish
A national dish is a dish, food or a drink that is considered to represent a particular country, nation or region.A dish can become a national dish for a variety of reasons. It can be the national dish because it is a staple daily food for the majority of the population. It can also be the national...
, as it is served from Sumatra to Papua, in a wide range of variations. Soto is omnipresent in Indonesia, available in many an open-air eateries and on many street corners.
Varieties
Many metropolitan areas have their own regional versions of soto, so sotos can be classified by regional style:- Ambon soto, It is made of chicken and broth, flavored and colored with turmeric, ginger, galangal, garlic (the three g's), lemongrass and loads of spices. Served with rice, the add-ins and toppings are blanched bean sprouts, shredded chicken, glass noodles, chopped celery leaves, golden fried shallots, fried potato sticks, kecap manis, hot sauce, and tiny potato croquettes. A healthy squeeze of lemon china, a really fragrant citrus, really brightens up the soup.
- BandungBandungBandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...
soto, a clear beef soto with daikonDaikonDaikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also called White Radish, Japanese radish, Oriental radish, Chinese radish, lo bok and Mooli , is a mild flavoured, very large, white East Asian radish...
pieces. - BanjarBanjarmasinBanjarmasin is the capital of South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. As a result, Banjarmasin is sometimes called the "River City"...
soto, spiced with lemongrass and sour hot sambal, accompanied with potato cakes. - BanyumasBanyumasBanyumas or "Banjoemas" is a regency in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Sumpiuh.The term Banyumasan is also used as an adjective referring to the culture, language and peoples of larger Banyumas area...
soto or sroto Banyumas or sroto Sokaraja, made special by its peanut sambalSambalSambal is a chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. Sambals are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Netherlands and in Suriname through Javanese influence. It is typically made from a variety of chili peppers and is...
, usually eaten with ketupatKetupatKetupat or packed rice is a type of dumpling from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines , and Singapore.-History:It is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled...
. - BetawiJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
soto, made of beef or beef offal, cooked in a whitish cow milk or coconut milk broth, with fried potato and tomato. - KediriKediri, East JavaKediri is an Indonesian city, located near the Brantas River in the province of East Java on the island of Java.Archaeological artefacts discovered in 2007 appeared to indicate that the region around Kediri may have been the location of the Kediri kingdom, a Hindu kingdom in the 11th century.The...
soto, a chicken soto in coconut milk. - KudusKudusKudus is a regency in Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Kudus. It is located east of Semarang, capital of Central Java.-History:...
soto, made with water buffalo meat due to local tabooTabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
s of the consumption of beef. - LamonganLamonganLamongan is a regency of East Java, Indonesia, with an area of .Lamongan Regency is surrounded by:*Northern side : Java Sea*Southern side : Regency of Mojokerto and Jombang*Eastern side : Gresik Regency...
soto, a popular street foodStreet foodStreet food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
in various Indonesian metropolitan areas, a variation of the Madura soto. - MaduraMaduraMadura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km². Madura is administered as part of the East Java province. It is separated from Java by the narrow Strait of Madura.-History:...
soto or soto Sulung/soto Ambengan, made with either chicken, beef or offal, in a yellowish transparent broth. - MakassarMakassarMakassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
soto or coto Makassar, a beef and offal soto boiled in water used to wash rice, with fried peanutPeanutThe peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
. - MedanMedan- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
soto, a chicken/pork/beef/innards soto with added coconut milk and served with potato croqutte (perkedel). The meat pieces are fried before being served or mixed. - PadangPadang, IndonesiaPadang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 833,000 people at the 2010 Census.-History:...
soto, a beef broth soto with slices of fried beef, bihun (rice vermicelli), and perkedel kentang (fried mashed potato). - PekalonganPekalonganPekalongan is a city and seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of Central Java, Indonesia. The city is Central Java's most important port, and is known for its batik.-History:The history of Pekalongan dated back to the early 12th century...
soto or tauto Pekalongan, spiced with taucoTaucoTauco , is a paste made from preserved fermented soybeans in Chinese Indonesian cuisine. The name comes from the pronunciation in the Hokkian dialect and it is originated from China...
(a fermented misoMisois a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus , the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso...
-like bean paste). - SemarangSemarang- Economy :The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles,...
soto, a chicken soto spiced with candlenutCandlenutAleurites moluccana, the Candlenut, is a flowering tree in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, also known as Candleberry, Indian walnut, Kemiri, Varnish tree, Nuez de la India, Buah keras or Kukui nut tree....
and often eaten with sate kerang (cockles on a stick) - Tegal soto or Sauto Tegal, almost same with PekalonganPekalonganPekalongan is a city and seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of Central Java, Indonesia. The city is Central Java's most important port, and is known for its batik.-History:The history of Pekalongan dated back to the early 12th century...
soto spiced with taucoTaucoTauco , is a paste made from preserved fermented soybeans in Chinese Indonesian cuisine. The name comes from the pronunciation in the Hokkian dialect and it is originated from China...
(a fermented misoMisois a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus , the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso...
-like bean paste). Sauto can be chicken soto, beef soto, or even beef offal.
Other sotos are named based on their chief ingredient:
- Soto ayamSoto ayamSoto ayam is a yellow spicy chicken soup with lontong or nasi empit or ketupat and/or vermicelli or noodles, commonly found in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Suriname. Turmeric is added as one of its ingredients to get yellow chicken broth...
is chicken in a yellow spicy broth with lontongLontongLontong is an Asian dish made of compressed rice wrapped inside banana leaf that is then cut into small cakes as staple food replacement of steamed rice...
, nasi empit, ketupatKetupatKetupat or packed rice is a type of dumpling from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines , and Singapore.-History:It is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled...
(rice compressed by cooking wrapped tightly in a leaf, then sliced into small cakes), or vermicelliVermicelliVermicelli is a traditional type of pasta round in section that is thicker than spaghetti.-Vermicelli thickness comparison:In USA, the National Pasta Association, founded in 1904, lists, together with various spelling mistakes, vermicelli as a thinner type of spaghetti.-History in Italy:In...
, commonly found in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia. - Soto babat is a cow's or goat's tripeTripeTripe is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.-Beef tripe:...
, served in yellow spicy coconut milk soup with vermicelliVermicelliVermicelli is a traditional type of pasta round in section that is thicker than spaghetti.-Vermicelli thickness comparison:In USA, the National Pasta Association, founded in 1904, lists, together with various spelling mistakes, vermicelli as a thinner type of spaghetti.-History in Italy:In...
, potato, and vegetables, usually eaten with rice. It is commonly found throughout IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. - Soto kaki (lit. "foot soto") is made of beef tendonTendonA tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fasciae connect muscles to other...
and cartilageCartilageCartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
taken from cow's feet, served in yellow spicy coconut milk soup with vermicelliVermicelliVermicelli is a traditional type of pasta round in section that is thicker than spaghetti.-Vermicelli thickness comparison:In USA, the National Pasta Association, founded in 1904, lists, together with various spelling mistakes, vermicelli as a thinner type of spaghetti.-History in Italy:In...
, potato, vegetables, and krupuk, commonly eaten with rice. It is Betawi food and can found in JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. - Soto mi is a yellow spicy beef or chicken broth soup with noodles, commonly found in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia. BogorBogorBogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, Indonesia, is famous for its soto mi made with beef broth, kikil (cow's cartilage), noodles, and sliced risoles spring rolls.
Common Condiments
- Stewed quailQuailQuail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
eggs or chicken eggs - CocklesCockle (bivalve)Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
on a stick (sate kerang) - Skewered grilled tripes (sate babat)
- Skewered grilled chicken giblets, such as intestine, gizzard and liver sataySataySatay , or sate, is a dish of marinated, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay may consist of diced or sliced chicken, goat, mutton, beef, pork, fish, other meats, or tofu; the more authentic version uses skewers from the midrib of the coconut palm frond, although bamboo skewers are...
(sate ati ampela dan usus) - Fried chicken giblets
- Prawn crackers, sometimes crushed and mixed with crushed fried garlic as koya in Madura or Lamongan soto
- Gnetum seed crackers (emping)
- Fried tofuTofuis a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
or tempehTempehTempeh , or tempe , is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty... - Mashed potato patties (perkedel)
- Hot chili sauce (sambalSambalSambal is a chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. Sambals are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Netherlands and in Suriname through Javanese influence. It is typically made from a variety of chili peppers and is...
) - Sweet soy sauceSoy sauceSoy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
- Fried shallot (bawang goreng)
- Spicy fried grated coconut (serundengSerundengSerundeng is an Indonesian sauteed grated coconut that is often used as a side dish to accompany rice. It is made primarily of grated coconut. First spices and seasonings like onions, chili peppers, garlic, onion, coriander, turmeric, sugar, tamarind, bay leaves , lime leaves , and galangal are...
) - LimeLime (fruit)Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
juice, sometimes replaced with vinegarVinegarVinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
Ingredients
The meats that are most commonly used are chickenChicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
, but there are also variations with offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
, mutton, water buffalo
Water buffalo
The water buffalo is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.Water buffalo can also refer to:*Wild water buffalo , the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo...
meat and pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
. The soup is usually accompanied by rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
or compressed rice cakes (lontong
Lontong
Lontong is an Asian dish made of compressed rice wrapped inside banana leaf that is then cut into small cakes as staple food replacement of steamed rice...
, ketupat
Ketupat
Ketupat or packed rice is a type of dumpling from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines , and Singapore.-History:It is made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled...
or buras). Offal is a very common ingredient in soto, and is considered as a delicacy: the rumen
Rumen
The rumen, also known as a paunch, forms the larger part of the reticulorumen, which is the first chamber in the alimentary canal of ruminant animals. It serves as the primary site for microbial fermentation of ingested feed...
(blanket/flat/smooth tripe), reticulum
Reticulum
Reticulum is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for a small net, or reticle—a net of crosshairs at the focus of a telescope eyepiece that is used to measure star positions...
(honeycomb and pocket tripe), omasum
Omasum
The omasum, also known as the bible, the fardel, the manyplies and the psalterium, is the third compartment of the stomach in ruminants...
(book/bible/leaf tripe) and the intestines are all eaten.
Other ingredients of soto include soon alternatively spelled as sohun (rice vermicelli), mung bean sprouts and scallion
Scallion
Scallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
.
Soto spices include shallot
Shallot
The shallot is the botanical variety of Allium cepa to which the multiplier onion also belongs. It was formerly classified as the species A. ascalonicum, a name now considered a synonym of the correct name...
s, garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
, galangal
Galangal
Galangal is a rhizome of plants of the genus Alpinia or Kaempferia in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originated from Indonesia...
, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
.
Soto can have a clear broth, a yellow transparent broth (coloured with turmeric) or a milky coconut-milk broth.
Soto in Malaysia and Singapore is the clear chicken broth type. Like many dishes, it may have been brought into the country by the many Javanese migrants in the early 20th century.