Soto Ayam Lamongan

Soto Ayam, the traditional chicken soup is one of our ultimate cold weather favorites. As a one dish meal, all the 'cook' ingredients are served in one bowl. It's delicious fragnant chicken soup.

Actually, this type of traditional chicken soup is popular in almost every parts of this country. This time I cooked the one from Lamongan, East Java. The ingredients, the flavor, and also the cordiments are not too different with other Soto Ayam from other places.

Honestly, it's easy to prepare this dish, but we have to manage our time to prepare and cook the 'small things' that will be served together in the bowl. Some parts can be done in advance.

I cooked this food for our dinner, but I prepared the potato cake in the late afternoon and fried it later on. I also prepared the spices paste in advance. No rush when all the family members already sitting on the dining table.

So, if you want to prepare the Soto from the scratch, I'd suggest you to manage your energy and time to get the best result.

Check here for Potato Cake/Perkedel Recipe.




Soto Ayam Lamongan
source : Primarasa Femina, Soto Nusantara
Bahan / Ingredients :
1/2 ekor ayam / 1/2 chicken
2.5 liter air, untuk merebus / 2.5 litre water
1 cm lengkuas, memarkan / 1 cm galangal, crushed
1 butir cengkeh / 1 clove
1 batang serai, memarkan / 1 lemongrass, crushed
1 sdt garam / 1 tsp salt
2 sdm minyak goreng, untuk menumis / 2 tbsp oil for saute/stir fry
minyak untuk menggoreng / cooking oil

Bahan Halus / Ground spices
6 butir bawang merah / 6 shallots
2 siung bawang putih / 2 garlic
2 cm kunyit / 2 cm tumeric
2 cm jahe / 2 cm ginger
1/2 sdt merica / 1/2 tsp white pepper
2 sdt ketumbar / 2 tsp coriander
4 butir kemiri / 4 candlenuts
2 sdt garam / 2 tsp salt

Pelengkap / Cordiments
150 gr tauge / 150 gr bean sprouts
50 gr suun, seduh air panas, tiriskan / 50 gr vermicelli/glass noodle, pour with hot water, drain
50 gr kol / 50 gr cabbage
2 batang seledri / 2 celery
3 butir telur / 3 eggs
1 sdm bawang putih goreng / 1 tbsp fried garlic
sambal cabai rawit / chili sauce
jeruk nipis / lime
kecap manis / sweet soy sauce

1. Rebus ayam bersama lengkuas, cengkeh, serai, dan garam. Setelah kaldu mendidih dan ayam lunak, keluarkan ayam dari panci. Jerang kembali kaldu di atas api
2. Panaskan minyak goreng, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum, masukkan ke dalam panci kaldu. Masak terus hingga bau langu bumbu hilang dan kuah tinggal +/- 1.2 L, angkat. Bila kurang, tambahkan air mendidih.
3. Goreng ayam hingga kuning, angkat, tiriskan. Pisahkan daging ayam dari tulangnya, kemudian suwir-suwir.
4. Seduh touge dan suun dengan air panas secara terpisah, tiriskan. Iris kol dan seledri tipis-tipis. Rebus telur hingga masak, angkat, kupas, masing-masing belah menjadi 2 atau 4.
5. Penyajian; Siapkan mangkuk saji, taruh berturut-turut ayam suwir, tauge, suun, dan kol. Siram dengan kuah panas. Taburi seledri dan bawang putih goreng, taruh sepotong telur rebus. Hidangkan panas dengan plengkap sambal, air jeruk nipis, dan kecap manis.

Method (in English)
1. Boil the chicken with ginger, clove, lemongrass, and salt. After the stock is boiled and the chicken is tender, remove chicken from the pan. Heat back the stock.
2. Heat the oil, saute ground spices until fragrant, add into the stock. Continue to cook until it smells good and the soup is about 1.2 L left, then remove from heat. If not enough, add boiling water.
3. Fry the chicken until it gets golden, remove and drain it. Remove the bone from the chicken and shred the meat.
4. Pour the bean sprout and the vermicelli/glass noodle with hot water separately, drain. Slice the cabbage and celery thinly. Boil the eggs until cooked, peel, slice into 2 or 4.
5. Serving: Prepare a serving bowl, put the shredded chicken , bean sprouts, vermicelli/glass noodle, and cabbage. Add the hot soup. Sprinkle fried garlic and chopped celery, put a piece of boiled egg. Serve hot with chilli sauce, lime juice, and soy sauce.