Surinamese Saoto Soup
A Surinamese-Javanese soup built at the table from broth, rice, pulled chicken, bean sprouts, egg, crispy Saoto mix and spicy soy sauce. Makes about 5 litres of broth. Country: Suriname.
Ingredients
| 2 | large chicken breasts | |
| 2 | sereh (lemongrass) stems | |
| 2 | fresh laos (galangal), ~1cm pieces | |
| 2 | fresh ginger, ~1cm pieces | |
| 5 | allspice berries (lontai / pimenta) | |
| 1 | salam leaf (Indonesian bay leaf) | |
| 8-12 | small Maggi cubes | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | nutmeg |
| 1 twig | fresh celery | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | five-spice powder |
| 1 large bag | bean sprouts | |
| 10 | eggs | |
| — | basmati rice (cooked) | |
| 2 bags | ready-made fried noodle/onion/potato Saoto mix | |
| 1 or more | Madame Jeanette chilis (for spicy soy sauce) | |
| 2 | large garlic cloves (for spicy soy sauce) | |
| 2 | small Maggi cubes (for spicy soy sauce) | |
| 300 ml | soy sauce (for spicy soy sauce) |
Instructions
Broth:
- Cut off the excess fat of the chicken breasts and place them in a large stock pot (6 litres at least).
- Fill the pan with 5 litres of water and add Maggi cubes (8-12 to taste).
- Then add the sereh (make some incisions), laos, ginger, allspice berries, celery twig with leaves, and bay leaf. Finally, add the nutmeg and stir well.
- Bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for two hours. Occasionally remove the fatty layer with a skimmer.
Spicy soy sauce: 5. Cut the Madame Jeanette and garlic cloves in slices. Add them to a little bit of water in a small saucepan. 6. Let them cook slowly till the chilis and garlic have become soft. Then allow to cool and puree in a blender or food processor. 7. Pour into a bowl and add the soy sauce. Depending on your taste you can add more or less sauce.
Eggs: 8. Depending on the number of people, make 1 to 2 hard-boiled eggs per person. Let them cool, and peel in advance. You can put them aside in a bowl of cold water.
Pulled chicken: 9. When the broth is finished, take the chicken breasts out. 10. Start making the pulled chicken using two forks to pull the meat apart.
What to place on the table before eating: a large bowl of the pulled chicken; a bowl with the fried noodle/onion/potato Saoto mix; a bowl of cooked rice; a bowl of the green bean sprouts; a bowl of eggs; a bowl of the spicy soy sauce; some leftover celery leaves; and of course your broth!
To put it all together: Take a big soup bowl and start by taking some rice, chicken, green bean sprouts and egg. Pour the warm broth over your ingredients, and top off with the fried noodle/onion/potato Saoto mix and celery leaves. Add the spicy soy sauce according to taste.