Soto are one of Indonesian national dishes, its our heritage. Soto are soupy broth that made from blend of spices. However we Indonesian have a width array of Soto, commonly it is made from chicken or beef broth and being enjoy from west to the east part of Indonesia, in fact some of region have their own version of Soto. Like what I am going to make here,  one of Soto version that come from island that called Madura, Madura are area that sit in near east of Surabaya, capital city of east Java, my home, so this dishes are quite close to my heart.

Even though, nearing my childhood home, there are several version of Soto, but the basic spices are commonly the same, usually the differences are how to serve and some of certain condiment as a side dishes. I hope I can write later on, my culinary Soto heritage.

I serve this dishes quite different, since I make the vegan version, it is obviously different, but I am not compromises on the spices I used.

Sort-sort lets go to the kitchen..

SOTO MADURA-VEGAN VERSION

SERVE 5 portion (depend on how much broth per-serve)

INGREDIENT

Spice blend (blend below ingredient into super smooth paste by adding small amount of water)

• 1 tumb size ginger
• 1 tsp ground turmeric (if you can find fresh turmeric, that would be a lot better in taste, exchange with 5-6cm fresh turmeric if you have in hand)
• 1 big size french shallot
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 candle nut (substitute with the same amount of 2 roasted cashew, if you have difficulty to find it)

Other ingredient

• 1 lemon grass
• 5 lime leaves
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 500ml water
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 3 tsp sugar

To serve

• Celery leaves, slice it really fine
• Spring onion, slice it really fine
• 100 gram vermicelli (rice noodle), boiled in hot water then wash and rinse it with cold water
• 100 gram white cabbage, slice it really fine OR change the amount base on your preference of
• 100 gram soya sprout (optional, originally we not serve this but since I make the vegan version, I need some more nutrition)
• Fried shallot
• Lime juice to serve
• Tomatoes, slice it in bite size (optional)

HOW TO

1. In big pot and medium hight heat, put inside the spices paste, lemon grass, lime leaves and vegetable oil, sautéed them until really fragrance.
2. When the spices already fragrance, put inside the vegetable broth and water, let them boiled. After it boiled, season with sugar and sea salt (give it a taste and adjust it if necessary according your preference)
3. When the broth are boiling, it is ready to serve.
4. I serve mine with steam of mix rice and the condiment that I already prepare before (rice noodle, cabbage, cherry tomatoes, soya sprout, sprinkle with celery, spring onion and fried shallot)