Soto Betawi - Jakarta Beef Curry Soup

Although Soto Betawi is not a dish that I would eat regularly due to its quite high-cholesterol content, having this from time to time can be a real treat. Like many other South-East Asian dishes, you would need to collect quite some herbs and spices to be able to make Soto Betawi from scratch, such as galangal, lemongrass, candlenut, bay leaves, turmeric, red shallot, garlic, ginger and coconut milk. This is a quite long list! And living in Germany doesn't make it easier to get ahold of these fresh exotic spices - sure we do have some local Asian groceries that do sell all those ingredients, but I don't go there often. That's why having an instant seasoning mix can sometimes come in handy. My favourite Indonesian instant mix brand is called Munik.


It's the best instant seasoning brand I know, that provides really quite authentic taste of Indonesian cuisine. Munik is also (as far as I know) more expensive than the other Indonesian seasoning mixes, but it's worth it. I have tried their Rendang, Gulai and Ayam Goreng mixes and I am not disappointed. But I have tried their Nasi Goreng seasoning mix, and I can only say, make your own Nasi goreng, it would taste better! I don't think that Germany has Munik in sale anywhere, I have my own Munik stock from my Mum who vistited me a year ago.