untie Rahimah’s favourite part of cooking the Mee Soto is blending and mixing the spice paste from scratch. It provides an element of homeliness and freshness to the dish that cannot be bought. Her family loves her Mee Soto made with her special spice blend, and her relatives would often request for it to be prepared during family gatherings. This Mee Soto never fails to put a smile on her grandchildren’s faces, which makes her feel happy to be able to cook the dish for them.
This is one of the first few dishes she learned to cook from her sister-in-law when she was younger. Her sister-in-law would also often call her up whenever she wants to experiment and try cooking a new dish.
While Auntie Rahimah shared recollections cooking her Mee Soto, she also shares that there’s still some debate over where this dish originates from – she personally believes Mee Soto origins from Indonesia. Regardless where the dish came from, it’s become a key memory and bonding element in her family.
My sister and I preparing ingredients
Khao Yam, before mixing
My dad, Chan
Auntie Rahimah's Mee Soto
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Course: MainDifficulty: Medium
Servings
4
servings
Prep time
30
minutes
Cooking time
40
minutes
Ingredients
Spice paste
1red onion
3garlic cloves
1tbspsliced ginger
½ tspcumin seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
1tspcoriander seeds
2-3black pepper seeds
Other ingredients
1cinnamon stick
2star anise
4cardamom pods
4ceylon cloves
1lemongrass
¼red onion, sliced
1tbspgalangal (thai ginger)
600gramschicken
500gyellow noodles, blanched
1000mlwater
Garnishing (Optional)
bean sprouts, blanched
fried shallots
celery leaves, chopped
scallion, chopped
Directions
After preparing the ingredients for the spice paste, blend it together. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed for easier blending.
Smash the galangal and lemongrass.
In a lightly oil pan, add the sliced red onion, 4 spices, and the smashed ingredients together for the aroma.
Add in the spice paste onto the pan and fry.
Transfer the spice mixture into a pot. Add chicken and water, boiling for at least 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Adjust amount of water as needed to change thickness of soup.
Strain chicken and shred the meat.
In a bowl, add blanched yellow noodles and soto gravy. Top with shredded chicken and garnishes of choice.
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