Soto, Simply Irresistible

Soto,coto or sroto is a typical Indonesian food made from meat and vegetable broth. The most commonly meat used are chicken and beef, though pigs and goats are also used in some regions. Various regions in Indonesia have their own kind of soto, with different content, for example, Kediri Soto, Madura soto, Betawi soto, Padang soto, Bandung soto, Sokaraja soto, Banjar soto, Makassar Coto . Soto was also named after the meat/main content used, such as chicken soto, tripe soto, goat soto. Soto has many similarities with soup.

There are many kinds of soto in Indonesia, each has different way of serving. Soto could be served with various toppings, such as crackers,
emping melinjo, chili sauce, peanut sauce, and others. And also with other additional such as pindang egg satay, noddle, shells satay, shrimp, lime, koya (mixture pile of crackers with garlic),etc.

Since the staple food of Indonesia is rice, soto is usually served with rice as the main menu. However, there are differences in using rice as the main menu . Most soto are served with rice separately, like Betawi Soto, Padang Soto, and others. The soto which are served along with rice mixed in is for example Kudus Soto and chicken soto. There are also soto which are served with lontong or cooked rice wrapped in banana leaves, for example Makassar Coto. Moreover, there is also soto which using noddles instead of rice,like Bogor Noddle Soto.

In case you wonder, here is a list of several kinds of soto in Indonesia according to the region:

• Bandung Soto, a clear beef soto with daikon pieces
• Betawi Soto, cooked in a coconut milk broth or whitish cow milk, with fried potato and tomato
• Banjar soto, spiced with sour hot sambal and lemongrass, accompanied with potato cakes
• Medan soto, a milky chicken soto, with the chicken pieces fried before being mixed with other ingredients
• Kudus soto, made with water buffalo meat due to local taboos of the consumption of beef
• Makassar soto or coto Makassar, a beef and offal soto boiled in water used to wash rice, with fried peanut.
• etc

When you have the chance to visit one of those regions, don’t forget to taste the local soto. You’ll enjoy it.

Tags: Betawi Soto, culinary, food, indonesia, Kudus Soto, Makassar Coto

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