Soto Ayam Recipe | Indonesian Chicken Soup

Soto ayam is Indonesia's beloved chicken soup, golden with turmeric and fragrant with lemongrass. It warms you from the inside out.

Soto ayam is Indonesian comfort food at its most healing. This golden, aromatic chicken soup is colored with fresh turmeric, fragrant with lemongrass and kaffir lime, and served with rice vermicelli, hard-boiled egg, and a squeeze of lime.

The broth is the star. Chicken pieces are simmered in water with turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and a bay leaf (daun salam) for at least an hour. The slow simmer extracts maximum flavor and produces a clear, golden soup.

The spice paste: Blend 4 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric, 2cm ginger, 5 candlenuts, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, and salt. Fry in oil until fragrant, then add to the broth.

Assembly: Place a handful of rice vermicelli in a bowl. Add shredded chicken, a hard-boiled egg half, bean sprouts, and sliced celery. Ladle hot broth over everything. Garnish with fried shallots, sambal, and a lime wedge. Stir the sambal into the soup to taste.

In our Indonesian Cuisine Class, soto ayam is one of the dishes you prepare from scratch - including making the broth, the spice paste, and all the garnishes. It teaches you how to build layers of flavor in Indonesian soups.