Delicious and flavorful Jakarta-style beef soup loaded with aromatic spices and herbs served with delicious sambal kacang (peanut sambal).
Soto is a very common food in Indonesia. It’s comfort food to many. It is basically soup. There are so many different kinds of soto. Soto daging Betawi is one of the popular soto in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta. Everyone seems to have his/her own version of soto daging Betawi. I’ve tried several different kind and this version I’m sharing here I really love.
The recipe rundown
Taste: It’s a savory soup with an amazing aroma from the spices and herbs
Texture: The soup is smooth with tender beef (but doesn’t fall apart kind of tender) and served with toppings that provides some crunch and spiciness from the sambal kacang
Level: Medium
Pros: This is something you can cook in a bigger batch and it tastes even better the next day or so. They keep well in the fridge for up to one week and freezes well too
Cons: Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you away. It’s not as bad as you think
Type of beef to use
I used beef stew meat. But feel free to use other cuts such as shank or chuck
What to serve with soto daging Betawi
What you want to serve the soto with, is really optional. I would say, at least have the sambal if you can’t be bothered to do the potatoes or don’t have any crackers on hand.
1. Sambal kacang
Honestly, you can go with any sambal and it will work if you ask me. I even served it with store-bought sambal oelek when I’m lazy to make my sambal from scratch. This sambal kacang though, you must try. I really like it, but it could be that I love anything peanuts too 🙂 It’s a bit different, but in a good way
2. Fried potato wedges
You don’t have to deep fry the potatoes. I air-fried the potatoes by tossing them in a bit of oil and air fry at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until they are crispy. You can also roast the potatoes in the oven
3. Crackers
I use prawn crackers because that’s what I had. Most locals like to have emping crackers with soto
Leftovers and how to reheat
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for about a week. You can make a big batch of this soto daging and they keep well. Here’s how:
1. Let the soup cools down completely
2. Portion out into individual freezer-friendly container or freezer bag (push all the air out and seal)
3. Label them and they can be kept for 3 months in the fridge
4. When ready to serve, simply thaw overnight in the fridge or if on the same day, partially submerge them in a water to thaw faster and then reheat on the stove or microwave
Did you make this soto daging Betawi recipe?
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You may also like these soto
Soto Ayam Bening (Indonesian Clear Chicken Noodle Soup)
How to make Soto Ayam Medan (Chicken Soup in Coconut Milk)
Soto Banjar (South Kalimantan Chicken Noodle Soup)
Recipe is adapted from JTT
Soto Daging Betawi (Jakarta Beef Soup)
Ingredients
- 500 gr beef stew meat
- 500 gr beef balls (bakso sapi) I use store-bought
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil divided
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup coconut milk
Ingredients to grind:
- 5 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
Spices and herbs:
- 3 kaffir lime leaves tear edges of leaves to release flavor
- 2 stalks lemongrass bruise with a heavy object to release flavor
- 1 large cinnamon stick
- 2 pods white cardamom
- 1 star anise
Seasoning:
- 1 cube chicken bouillon I used better-than-chicken buillon
- 1 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
Sambal:
- 100 gr roasted unsalted peanuts
- 5 cayenne peppers
- 3 Thai chilies
Garnishes:
- Chinese celery leaves finely chopped
- Crispy fried shallots / bawang goreng
Serve with: (optional)
- 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 large tomato quartered
- Prawn crackers
- acar timun
Instructions
Cooking the beef on the stove:
- Preheat a heavy-bottom pot. Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Add shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves and saute for 3 minutes or until aromatic. Add beef cubes, water and the rest of the spices and seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover and then lower the heat to let it simmer until the beef is tender but doesn't fall apart, about 1 hour or so
- Remove the beef from the pot. You can briefly pan-fry the beef with a bit of oil on the pan if you prefer. Most local will do this to lightly brown the meat.
- Add beef balls and coconut milk into the broth and have a taste. Adjust seasoning as needed
Cooking the beef with pressure cooker:
- I use Instant Pot pressure cooker. Press "saute" on Instant Pot. When it says "hot", add cooking oil. Add shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves and saute for 3 minutes or until aromatic. Add water and the rest of the spices and seasoning. Add beef cubes, water and the rest of the spices and seasoning. Scrape off the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is stuck. Cover the lid and turn the steam release valve to sealing. Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on "high pressure". Set the timer to 30 minutes and then allow natural release
- Remove the beef from the pot. You can briefly pan-fry the beef with a bit of oil on the pan if you prefer. Most local will do this to lightly brown the meat
- Add beef balls and coconut milk into the broth and have a taste. Adjust seasoning as needed
Prepare the fried potatoes (optional):
- Peel the potatoes and cut into wedges. Pat them dry and fry until golden brown and crispy. I use air fryer to fry the potatoes. Simply toss the potato wedges in a bit of oil and air fry at 350 F for 15-20 minutes. Check every 5 minutes and give the potatoes a shake so they cook evenly
Prepare the peanut sambal:
- Coarsely grind the peanuts in the food processor. Remove and set aside then coarsely grind the chili in a food processor. Preheat a small pan. Add the remaining cooking oil and saute the ground chili for about 2-3 minutes. Stir to combined. Add the peanuts and stir to combine
How to serve:
- Portion out the beef, potato wedges, tomato wedges into a bowl. Ladle the soup over. Garnish with bawang goreng and celery leaves. Serve with prawn crackers, peanut sambal, and acar timun on the side if you choose to do so
4 comments
Hi Marvellina, I’d like to try the recipe. May I check with you if we can use ground cardamon instead of pods?
Thank you.
Hi Christine, that should work, you probably can try about 1/4 tsp of ground cardamom.
I feel so grateful to find your blog, it’s very helpful and very easy to follow, thanks for this recipe I tried to make soto betawi today and it’s amazing!
I’m glad you like 🙂