This food is food that is often found in Indonesia. Many sellers choose to provide soto as their main stall. In fact, Soto became an icon in every region of Indonesia.
However, the mention of soto in each region is different, for example soto in Sokaraja, coto in Makassar, and tauto in Pekalongan. Are the ingredients and taste of these food dishes also different?
When traced, all food is actually equally Soto. Originally from China, it is said that this food was brought by immigrants from Canton who came to Indonesia in the 19th century.
The term “soto” refers to Chinese culinary which in Hokkien dialect is called cau do, jau to, or chau tu. The word cao means grass, referring to the spice which is a soto spice, while the word du means tripe or offal.
Soto with buffalo meat soup.
Along with its distribution in Indonesia, modified soto in accordance with the local wisdom of each region. The fastest development of the soto variant is believed to have occurred after independence.
For example, Holy Soto with buffalo meat in it! This is closely related to the culture of the Holy community which avoids beef, as instructed by Sunan Kudus.
Meanwhile, soto in Semarang uses chicken meat, given vermicelli, and clear brown sauce, then eaten with rice. Then, in Lamongan, soto was given a sprinkling of crocodiles. In general, soto from Kudus, Semarang and Lamongan are quite similar.
The difference in Soto is very obvious in Betawi, because Soto is served there with coconut milk sauce, plus a mixture of fried potatoes, tomatoes, and beef or offal. The soup also comes with chips and pickles.
Pekalongan tauto sauce is more concentrated because it is mixed with tauco.
Even though it’s different, the Betawi people still call that food soto. This is different from Pekalongan, which refers to its specialty soto as tauto. In the city of Batik, Soto looks more spicy because it is served by adding tauco, a kind of processed fermented soybeans.
Besides tauco, this soto, which is served separately with rice cake or rice, contains various spices, bean sprouts, vermicelli, and meat. Taste? Spicy and a little saltier than Soto from Semarang.
The taste of spices that are quite obvious you can also enjoy if you visit Banyumas. Local people know Sroto Sokaraja. Sroto is quite rich in spices, plus thick peanut seasoning. Not with rice cake or rice, Sroto is generally served with diamond.
Coto Makassar is one of the soto variants.
Far away in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the local people also know Soto, which is more familiarly called Coto. Compared to others, coto spice is said to be more complex because it contains 40 types of spices (ampah patang pulo).
Like Sroto, Coto also uses diamond, or uses burasa, Makassar’s traditional rice cake. Gosh, I’m hungry!
Although different gravy and meat filling, all these foods are still called soto. Eits, but if you are eating snacks at the place of origin, do not just say soto, yes! Respect local terms, who knows you will get soto at a low price when you travel to Indonesia. So, are you interested in traveling to Indonesia?
