Indonesian Chicken Stock

Indonesian cuisine offers a diverse variety of soups. Soto Ayam, a very flavoursome chicken soup and Bakso, a hearty meatball soup are amongst the most popular ones. If you ask me, they all have one thing in common: very good stock as their base.

If you’re planning to make indonesian soup, please take some extra time and prepare your own stock instead of using store-bought or instant versions. The spices and aromatics providing the right flavours for your final dish are very specific. You’ll be using lemongrass, kaffir lime and star anise for instance.

Recipe

Makes about 1.6l of stock

2 tbsp coconut or sunflower oil

6 small shallots or 12 Thai shallots, peeled and halved lengthways

3 carrots, chopped into 4cm chunks

3 celery stalks, chopped into 4cm chunks

2 leeks, chopped into 4cm chunks

1 chicken (preferably free range or organic) or 2kg chicken bones

Spices

1 tbsp black peppercorns

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

Aromatics

1 handfull of coriander stalks

4 garlic cloves, bruised

6 cm piece of ginger, peeled and sliced (about 30g)

2 lemongrass stalks, bruised

2 bay leaves

2 kaffir lime leaves

Toast the spices in a dry, heavybased pan over medium heat until fragrant. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the vegetables in batches until golden. Please be careful not to burn them.

Once done, return all the vegetables to the pot, along with the chicken, toasted spices and aromatics. Add enough cold water to cover (about 2l) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat abd simmer for abot 2 hours.

Once finished, strain the stock through a sieve and reserve it for its further use. If you prefer a strong concentration, return the stock to a (clean) pot, bring to a simmer and reduce for a little while longer until its strong and flavourful.