Soto Kudus

Ernesto’s soto Kudus uses chicken broth with a ground spice mixture and whole aromatics. His Indonesian Chef Association recipe pairs the soup with softened bihun, sprouts, lime, boiled eggs, sambal and perkedel.

A whole chicken boils until tender, then is removed and drained. It fries until yellow-golden, is shredded and set aside, while its broth remains for the soup.

The ground seasoning sautés with cloves, daun salam, lemongrass, citrus leaves, galangal and cinnamon until fragrant. It then goes into the chicken broth, which cooks over medium heat before sliced gula merah, salt and pepper adjust the seasoning.

Bihun soaks in hot water until soft and drains, and the sprouts are briefly scalded and drained. Sliced lime and spring onion, fried shallots, boiled eggs, sambal and perkedel are prepared as the listed additions.

The finished soup is served with those accompaniments. The shredded chicken and softened noodles sit alongside a spice mixture containing turmeric, ginger, toasted candlenuts, nutmeg and cumin, with lime and sambal offered among the additions.