Soto Betawi
A beef soup from Jakarta's indigenous Betawi community, itself a fusion product of Chinese, Arab, Dutch, and native Malay intermarriage during Batavia's colonial-port era. The dish existed as an unnamed local soto before street vendor Lie Bowen Bo popularized it commercially under the name 'Soto Betawi' in 1977-78. What genuinely sets it apart from other Indonesian sotos, most of which use clear or turmeric-yellow broths, is its milky-white broth built from both coconut milk and dairy milk together — a direct trace of Batavia's Dutch colonial dairy influence layered onto native and Chinese technique; versions using only coconut milk without any dairy are a simplified departure from the real thing.
⚠ Contains: Dairy, Tree Nut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 800g beef brisket or shank, cubed
- 400ml coconut milk
- 200ml evaporated milk
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 3 slices galangal
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 candlenuts (or macadamia)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- White pepper
- 1 tomato, chopped
- Lime, fried shallots, to serve
Steps
- Simmer the beef with lemongrass, galangal, and bay leaf until tender. Reserve the broth.
- Blend or sauté a spice paste of shallot, garlic, candlenut, coriander, cumin, and nutmeg.
- Combine the spice paste, beef broth, coconut milk, and evaporated milk. Simmer gently without boiling hard.
- Return the beef to the pot, finish with chopped tomato and a squeeze of lime.
- Serve with rice, topped with fried shallots.