Soto Banjar // Banjarese Chicken Soup

Banjar is the name of coastal native Indonesian ethnic group in the Banjar region and in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. Some years back in 2002, we did a backpacking around Borneo island from Sarawak to Sabah, a short visit to Brunei Darussalam and crossed to Tarakan island, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, by boat before continue the trip in the Indonesian part of Borneo. At that time it was so difficult finding a boat from Sandakan (Sabah) to Tarakan Island, since the Malaysian Government made a statement that all Indonesian ilegal workers had to leave Malaysia as soon as possible and the next border n Sabah there are many palm oil plantations and many Indonesian workers working for those plantations.

We had 5 weeks for Borneo but unfortunately we still didn't have enough time to travel until Pontianak, West Kalimantan. From Tarakan we continued traveling to the south and flew to Jakarta from Banjarmasin. That's why Kalimantan is still on my travel list.

There are some recipes of this Banjarese chicken soup. Some calls for cardamom and some not, which I already tested and also liked the result. With the recipe below, I sometime use milk but sometime not. Both ways are delicious.

Source: Home Style Indonesian Cooking

Ingredients:
800 gr chicken pieces
2 l water (I used 2,5 l)
1/2 cup milk (optional)
1/2 nutmeg -- roughly broken, or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 cardamom pods -- slit, bruised (I used 6 pods)
1 stick cinnamon (I used 1,5 sticks)
5 cloves (I used 7 cloves)
Ground white pepper to season
Oil for sauteing

To Grind
12-14 shallots (I used 2 big onions)
6 cloves garlic (I used 8 cloves garlic)
2 tsp salt

Accompaniments
100 gr glass noodle -- soaked in warm water to soften, cut in lengths
Fried potato patties
Hard-boiled eggs -- halved or quartered
Crispy fried shallots (I used crispy fried onions)
Indonesian sweet soy sauce
Light soy sauce
Bird's-eye chili sambal
Chinese celery -- sliced

Directions:
Heat the oil and stir fry the grind paste over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ground pepper. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly then wrap in a small piece of muslin cloth and tie securely. I used a very fine sieve

Put the cloth or a sieve in a large pot with the chicken pieces and water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer until the chicken is soft. Discard the cloth or the sieve. Remove chicken, cool, shred the flesh and return the shredded chicken to the stock. Add the milk, if using

Prepare the sambal and crispy fried shallots (onions)
Bird's-eye Chili Sambal
8 steamed bird's-eye chilies
1 tbsp lime juice or vinegar
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
** Combine all ingredients in a processor and blend until smooth

Crispy Fried Shallots
4 tbsp oil
6 shallots -- thinly sliced
** Stir fry sliced shallots in a heated oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and keep immediately in a sealed jar

Reheat the soup and divide into individual serving bowls. Garnish with the glass noodle or rice vermicelli, fried potato patties, eggs, crispy fried shallots or onions. Ladle the hot soup into each bowl. Serve with both types of soy sauce, sambal and steamed rice or rice cakes
Fried Potato Patties
500 gr potatoes
2 tbsp crispy fried shallots
Salt to season
1 egg
Oil
** Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain, peel, mash then allow to cool slightly. Add the crispy fried shallots, combine well. Shape into patties, dip in beaten egg and fry until golden brown

Another style of Soto:
Soto Ayam // Indonesian Chicken Soup
Soto Daging // Indonesian Beef Soup
Soto Ayam Madura // Madurese Chicken Soup