Malay Spiced Chicken Soup

– SOTO AYAM –

MALAYSIA / INDONESIA / SINGAPORE

I have particularly fond memories of this chicken soup from my primary school canteen. It was a very small school, so the canteen only had three stalls: one that sold tidbits and sweets (the most popular one, as you can guess), a drinks stall, and a stall owned by a Malay auntie that had a changing menu with two items on it every day. One of my favourites was her soto ayam. Just a whiff of the musky aroma of the spices would send me into that queue on Tuesdays. You can serve this soup with lontong (pressed rice cakes), bergedil (fried potato cakes), or, very simply, rice vermicelli. This version closely follows the one I had at school, save for the portion sizes and the coriander that Auntie knew the kids hated.

Serves 6

• 1 x 1kg free-range chicken
• 6 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon groundnut oil
• 6 cloves
• 2 sticks of cassia bark
• 2 star anise
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, bashed and roughly sliced
• sea salt, to taste

For the spice mix

• a 2cm piece of ginger
• 1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled
• 4 tablespoons ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons ground white pepper

To serve

• 500g dried rice vermicelli, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes until pliable
• 200g beansprouts
• 6 hard-boiled eggs, halved
• chopped fresh coriander
• fried shallots (see here)
• sambal tumis belachan (see here)

1. Pound/blend the ingredients for the spice mix together, then use it to rub the chicken inside and out.
2. In a large pot, sauté the shallots in the groundnut oil until lightly browned. Add the chicken to the pot, with enough water to cover, then bring to the boil. Skim off and discard the scum that rises to the top, repeating until the liquid is relatively clear of froth. Add the rest of the ingredients for the stock and turn the heat down low so that the liquid is barely simmering. Cover and leave to cook for 1 hour.
3. Remove the chicken from the stock and, when it’s cool enough to handle, roughly tear the meat off the bones. Return the carcass to the pot and let it continue simmering for 1 more hour. Meanwhile, shred the meat into bite-size pieces. When the broth is ready, pour it through a strainer to remove the spices.
4. Blanch the soaked rice vermicelli and beansprouts in boiling water very quickly (it should take less than 1 minute), then divide between bowls and pour over the hot chicken broth. Top with the shredded chicken, a halved hard-boiled egg, coriander and crispy fried shallots. Serve immediately, with a dollop of sambal tumis belachan if desired.