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(JG Photo/Petty Elliott)
Soto is a ubiquitous Indonesian soup or stew mostly found in Java and is most popularly prepared with beef or chicken. There are also other varieties that are found outside of Java and that include Banjarmasin chicken soto and coto Makassar. The difference between each lies in the spices and other fragrant ingredients.
Coto Makassar is a well-known soto from South Sulawesi. It includes many different spices and has been strongly influenced by Middle Eastern cuisine with cumin, coriander and cinnamon, and with the addition of fermented soya beans, or tauco . For this week’s recipe, I’m making coto Makassar with beef and also a good homemade beef stock served with burras, known in Java as lontong or rice cake. Enjoy!
Coto Makassar
The mixture of spices, tauco, lime juice and chili is a perfect combination. It is important to cook the beef slowly to achieve the desired tenderness. The dish, which serves 10, is simply delicious and is full of flavor.
Ingredients:
For beef stock: 1.5kg beef bones; 3 finely sliced carrots; 3 peeled and finely sliced onions; 3 roughly chopped spring onions; 1 clove of garlic; 5 cloves; 1 stick of cinnamon; 2 star anise.
For the coto: 1kg beef for stew or rendang , cut into cubes; 2 small sticks of cinnamon; 4 lemongrass sticks, crushed and tied into a knot; 5 kaffir lime leaves; 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil for sauteing the paste; 2 liters of homemade stock (see beef stock directions); 75ml of fresh lime juice; salt and black pepper to taste.
For the paste: 200gr of peeled and sliced shallots; 7 roughly chopped cloves of garlic; 50gr each of chopped galangal and ginger; 50gr roasted and ground raw nuts; one-and-a-half tablespoons of whole coriander; 1 tablespoon of cumin; 2 tablespoons of tauco; 5 red bird’s eye chili; 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
Extra ingredients for serving:
Sambal tauco (see recipe): 2-3 thinly sliced spring onions; 4 tablespoons of deep-fried shallots; lime juice to taste.
For the tauco sambal: 50gr red bird’s eye chili; 2 tablespoons of tauco; juice of 2 limes 100ml water; salt to season; one quarter of a teaspoon of sugar.
Directions:
1. First prepare the beef stock. Place the beef bones in a large pot and add water to cover the bones, bring to the boil and after 2-3 minutes, discard the water. Repeat until the remaining stock ingredients are added, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 hours. Strain the liquid.
2. To make the paste simply grind all the ingredients finely except the brown sugar, nuts and tauco. Use a pestle and mortar or a food processor.
3. In a large pan, add cooking oil and add the paste, then saute for around 15 minutes on medium heat and keep stirring.
4. Add the tauco, nuts and sugar, saute for 3-4 minutes until the water becomes clear, then add 2.5 liters of water and finally the beef pieces. Stir well.
5. Finish the beef stock with the cinnamon and lemongrass.
6. Simmer for 2 hours until the beef is tender and the broth is infused with all the ingredients. Check the seasoning and add salt if necessary.
7. In the meantime, prepare the sambal. Simply boil the chili then place them into a bowl of cold water. Then grind the chili mixing them with the tauco, lime juice, water, salt and sugar. Add the lime juice into mixture and set aside.
9. Serve in a soup bowl with the lontong, tauco sambal, deep-fried shallots and a sprinkle of sliced spring onion.
The post Food for Thought: South Sulawesi’s Coto Makassar appeared first on The Jakarta Globe.