Chicken Noodle Soup: Malaysian Style Soto Ayam

Aromatic spices and tender chicken come together in this homemade chicken noodle soup, garnished with daun sop (Chinese celery/soup leaves), spring onions, and crispy fried shallots. Wholesome, satisfying, and comforting, this is not your usual chicken noodle soup. Instead, it’s a Malay chicken soup made with aromatic spices and chicken bones to extract maximum taste.

Known as Soto Ayam, it’s a beloved Malaysian noodle soup (SAYUR LODEH/COCONUT MILK STEW), though there is also an Indonesian Soto Ayam version.

The soup features classic Malaysian spices and herbs, including cinnamon, cloves, lemongrass, and galangal, and can be served in different ways. Pour it over nasi himpit (pressed rice cake) to make lontong ayam. With kuey teow (flat rice noodles), it becomes kuey teow soup, and with yellow noodles, mee soto.

 

Soto Ayam is traditionally accompanied by a spicy dipping sauce. Either the classic cecah cili padi (bird’s eye chili dip) or a simple chili dip made with sliced chilies in soy sauce.

 

Known as a traditional Malay chicken noodle soup, or more broadly as Malaysian chicken noodle soup, Soto Ayam will forever remain a cherished Malaysian food (AYAM GORENG BEREMPAH/HERBS FRIED CHICKEN). 

Ingredients for Chicken Soup

½ kg chicken with bones

1 stalk lemongrass  - bruised

1 inch galangal - bruised

½ inch ginger - bruised 
1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

Salt and pepper
12 cups water

How to Make Chicken Soup
Into a pot, add all the ingredients.

Simmer over low heat for at least an hour.

If needed, add more water and keep simmering.

Season with salt and pepper

Once simmered, remove chicken, and drain off to discard the rest of the ingredients

Pour back the soup into the pot.

Keep the soup simmering over low heat. 

For the chicken, remove the meat from the bones and slice it.

Ingredients for Cecah Cili Padi (Soy Chilli Dip)

2 red chilies 
1/4 inch roasted belacan/shrimp paste
Dark soy sauce - to taste
Calamansi lime juice - to taste

A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt

How to Make Cecah Cili Padi

Roughly pound red chillies and roasted belacan.

Season with soy sauce, lime juice, sugar and salt.

(YouTube video: How to make Cecah Cili Padi, a Malay-style spicy dip).

Ingredients for Assembling Chicken Noodles Soup (as needed)

Blanched mee hoon

Sliced soup leaves 

Sliced spring onions

Crispy fried shallots in oil

How to Make Soto Ayam

Add all the ingredients listed above and also chicken slices 

Pour chicken soup atop and serve with the soy chilli dip.