Soto Sokaraja

Soto Sokaraja is a beef soup paired with a peanut sambal in Sasa’s version. The ingredient list brings together beef, ginger, lemongrass and galangal with sweet soy sauce, then lists soun, short bean sprouts, fried soybeans and smaller additions for the bowl.

The beef first boils in a litre of water until partly cooked. Warm water can replenish the pot if the level falls. A ground mixture of shallots, garlic, roasted turmeric, toasted candlenuts, salt and ground pepper fries separately in oil until fragrant.

That fried paste joins the beef broth with bruised ginger, lemongrass, galangal, the recipe’s beef seasoning and sweet soy sauce. The beef cooks until tender and the seasoning penetrates, then comes out of the pot to be cut into pieces.

The separate sambal combines fried ground peanuts with red bird’s-eye chillies, shallots, garlic, salt, sliced gula merah and air asam. It sautés in its own portion of oil, then cooks with water until thick.

The listed soun is soaked in cold water and drained, and the short sprouts are washed. Sliced spring onion, celery, fried shallots and crackers are listed alongside the fried soybeans, bringing fresh leaves and crisp additions to the soup’s components.