Saoto soup

You can buy a ready-made mix of fried onions, chipsticks and fried noodles especially for saoto (soto) soup at asian grocers and some supermarkets.

Alternatively, you could fry a handful of glass noodles yourself. Use a jar of fried onions, or fry your own. You can make the chipsticks / matchstick potatoes yourself by cutting potatoes into very thin strips (with a mandoline, if you have one) and then frying them.

Preparation – 45 minutes

Peel the half onion and garlic clove and roughly chop. Coarsely chop the ginger and galangal. Add the garlic, onion, ginger, galangal, allspice berries, lemongrass and bay leaf to 2 litres of water.

Add the chicken stock cubes and a teaspoon of soy sauce and bring to the boil. Set aside a little parsley for garnish and add the rest, including stems, to the water.

Put the lid on the pan and, once the water is boiling,  turn the heat to low. Let the stock simmer for at least half an hour to release all the flavours.

Fill a second medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Remove any excess fat and sinew from the chicken breasts and cook them in the boiling water until done.

Cook the rice in boiling water or in a rice cooker.

Finishing the Saoto soup – 15 minutes

Cook the eggs in boiling water for 7 minutes. Then shock the eggs under cold running water and peel them.

Use 2 forks to shred the cooked chicken breasts. Strain the stock and discard the herbs. Season the stock with salt, pepper and more soy sauce if needed.

Share out the rice, chicken pieces and bean sprouts between serving bowls. Pour the hot stock over this and finish with a boiled egg and the crispy toppings of fried onions, fried noodles and chipsticks / matchstick potatoes.

Serve with sambal (chilli sauce) of your choice and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Enjoy your meal!