Soto Mie Jakarta

A bowl of different textures and delicious fragrance. Try the equally satisfying vegetarian option using vegetable spring rolls.

300 gr beef shank, cubed
For vegetarian option: you can replace the beef with tofu - all other ingredients as shown
2-3 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 litre beef (or vegetable) stock or water
200 gr of fresh egg noodles or dried wheat noodles - follow the cooking instructions on the package
Salt and black pepper to taste
100 gr white or red cabbage
2 ripe tomatoes de-seeded, cut into cubes
2 tbsp fried shallots for the garnish
5 lime leaves torn into several pieces
2 bay leaves
4 medium spring rolls - you can use vegetarian alone or add chicken spring rolls
Small bunch of Chinese parsley
2 finely chopped spring onions
2 lemon grass stalks, crushed to release flavour
Juice of two limes

For the paste

50 gr shallots, peeled and chopped roughly
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 birds eye chillies chopped
3cm each of fresh galangal and ginger, peeled and chopped. You can substitute powdered galangal and ginger.

Jakarta's traditional markets provide the ingredients for every variation of Soto

Using a blender with a touch of water blend all the paste ingredients
Heat a large pan with the coconut/vegetable oil, add the paste and saute for up to 4 minutes. Thinly slice the beef, add it to the pan and brown for 4 minutes over medium heat, add the beef stock, lime leaves and bay leaves and lemon grass. Simmer until the beef is soft.
Season the stock mix with salt and pepper and add the lime juice.
Heat the spring rolls to make sure they are warmed through
For the noodles: boil a litre of water add the noodles and cook for 2 minutes, drain.
Place the noodles in 4 individual bowls, add the sliced cabbage, cubed tomatoes and parsley. Add the beef and sliced spring rolls
Sprinkle with crispy shallots (sliced, fried earlier) and chopped spring onion. Serve immediately.

Petty Elliott