Surinamese saoto soup

Name: Surinamese saoto soup
Ingredients: 1 tsp shrimp paste (trassi); 2 cm fresh ginger, sliced; 3 cloves garlic; 3 cm galangal, sliced; 3 candlenuts; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 1 large lemongrass stalk, bruised; 4 makrut lime leaves; 3 cm fresh turmeric; 2 onions, finely chopped; 2 whole chickens or 8 chicken legs; 4 litres water; ¼ white cabbage; ½ leek; Sunflower oil and salt; Maggi seasoning, optional; 10 eggs; 1 packet glass noodles; 250 g bean sprouts; 2 limes, cut into wedges; Chopped celery leaves; Crispy fried onions; Ketjap manis, prawn crackers and sambal

Saoto ajam with chicken, glass noodles and egg. A recipe from the cooking workshops at Kookstudio 25 in Rotterdam, to make at home.

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Method

Peel the garlic and turmeric and pound them in a mortar with the shrimp paste, coriander seeds and candlenuts.
Heat a few spoonfuls of sunflower oil in a large soup pot and fry the spice paste. Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add 4 litres of water and salt to taste.
Add the chicken, galangal, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Finely slice the cabbage and leek. Boil the eggs and cut them into wedges. Cook the glass noodles in plenty of salted water for 2 minutes, then rinse under cold water.
Lift out the chicken and let it cool slightly. Take the meat off the bones, cut it into pieces and return it to the soup. Add the cabbage and leek and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt or Maggi if needed.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with glass noodles, egg, celery leaves, bean sprouts, crispy fried onions and lime. Serve with prawn crackers, sambal and ketjap manis.