As information, bakso is popular street food in Indonesia. But a bakso is not just meatballs, it needs to come with the broth, the greens, the rice noodles, the toppings such as scallion, Chinese celery, deep-fried shallots, and some sambal for those who love spicy food.
Bakso is such a common food that most people nowadays do not make their own meatballs.
Any market, be it traditional wet market, the neighborhood convenience store, or the modern big-box supermarket, carries packages of frozen bakso.
It comes in many varieties as well, from traditional beef and chicken to fish, shrimp, and cuttlefish.
Recipe of Kuah Bakso Sapi – Beef Balls Soup
Ingredients :
Bakso (meatballs)
250-gram beef
80-gram ice cubes
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
100-gram tapioca starch
Broth
8 cups beef stock (*)
4 stalks Chinese celery, knotted
4 stalks scallion, knotted
4 cloves garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Accompaniments :
4 servings of rice noodles (Indonesian: bihun), cooked according to the packet’s instruction
4 bunches baby bok choy, washed and drained, halve each bunch, parboiled
thinly sliced scallions (Indonesian: daun bawang)
thinly sliced Chinese celeries (Indonesian: daun seledri)
deep fried shallots (Indonesian: bawang goreng)
chili sauce (Indonesian: sambal)
Instructions
To make Bakso (meatballs) :
- Grind together all meat balls ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and shape into a ball.
- Repeat until all beef mixtures are used up.
- Boil a pot of water and cook the beef balls. They will sink to the bottom, and once cooked, will float to the top. Remove cooked beef balls from the pot and set them aside.
To make Broth :
- Place all broth ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil.
- Add beef balls into the broth, turn off the heat when it boils again.
How to serve :
- Divide cooked rice noodles and blanched baby bok choy into 4 serving bowls.
- Top with beef balls and hot broth.
- Serve with sliced scallions, Chinese celeries, and deep-fried shallots.
- Serve white-hot with a side of chili sauce.
