The Soto King's Chicken Soup

This was a very nice, fragrant soup. I didn't top it with fried shallots & celery leaves, which would be good, I'm sure. I used macadamia nuts from Hawaii- although we saw candlenut trees there, we didn't bring any home with us.

THE SOTO KING'S CHICKEN SOUP
Makes 4 or 5 servings without rice, or 6 servings with rice

• 2 tablespoons Crisp-Fried Shallots (see Note)
• 1 whole free-range chicken, 3 to 3 1/2 pounds, quartered
• 2 quarts water
• 2 thick stalks fresh lemongrass, each tied into a knot
• 6 whole fresh or thawed, frozen kaffir lime leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

FOR THE FLAVORING PASTE:

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 5 shallots (about 3 3/4 ounces), coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 3 candlenuts or unsalted macadamia nuts
• 1 piece fresh or thawed, frozen turmeric, 2 inches long, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 teaspoons), or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 piece fresh galangal, 2 inches long, peeled and thinly sliced against the grain (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 piece fresh ginger, 2 inches long, peeled and thinly sliced against the grain (about 2 tablespoons)

FOR THE REST OF THE DISH:

• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 small package glass noodles
• Boiling water to cover the glass noodles
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Chinese celery greens or regular celery leaves
• 3 limes quartered

Prepare the fried shallots and set aside.

Combine the chicken, 2 quarts of water, lemongrass, lime leaves and salt in a 4-quart saucepan, Dutch oven or soup pot. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a roiling boil. Using a large spoon, skim off the foam that rises to the top. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the liquid cook at a lively simmer until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Continue to skim off the foam every 10 minutes or so to yield a clear broth.

Meanwhile, make the flavoring paste. Place the peppercorns, coriander and cumin in a small food processor. Pulse until the spices are ground to a dusty powder, about 2 minutes.

Add the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, turmeric, galangal and ginger to the ground spices. Pulse until you have a smooth paste the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes. If the paste won't puree properly and repeatedly creeps up the side of the processor instead of grinding, add up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, periodically turning the processor off and scraping the unground portions down toward the blade.

Heat the oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Test to see if the oil is the right temperature by adding a pinch of the ground paste. The paste should sizzle slightly around the edges, not fry aggressively or sit motionless. When the oil is ready, add all the paste and saute, stirring as needed to prevent scorching, until the paste begins to separate from the oil and the aroma of coriander and cumin takes over, 5 to 7 minutes.

By now the chicken should be cooked through and just beginning to fall away from the bone. If it isn't, allow it to simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Remove and discard the lemongrass and lime leaves from the stock. Set the stock in the pot aside (don't discard it). Transfer the chicken quarters to a bowl and set them aside until they are cool enough to handle. When they are, tear the flesh and skin -- discard the bones -- into the finest pieces you can manage; this works best if you tear with the grain of the flesh, not against it. (You can discard the skin if you like, though it is traditionally used in soto.)

Add the flavoring paste and the chicken pieces to the stock and stir well to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until the essence of the flavoring paste begins to bind with the stock, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the glass noodles in a bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let the noodles soak until they soften, 10 to 15 minutes. Once they're soft, hold the noodles in a tight bunch and, with a pair of kitchen shears or a knife, snip or cut them into pieces 4 to 5 inches long (longer pieces can be tricky to eat, as the noodles are quite slippery). Drain the softened noodles into a colander and set aside.

Taste the simmering soup for salt, and add a pinch more if needed. Remove the pan from the heat, add the lime juice and stir to combine. Taste once more for salt.

To serve the soup, you can divide the glass noodles among shallow, wide soup bowls, ladle the soup over them and sprinkle the fried shallots and celery greens on top just before serving. Or, add the noodles to the soup while it's still in the pot, and then transfer the soup to a tureen and garnish with shallots and celery just before serving. In both cases, put the lime quarters at the center of the table for guests to squeeze into the soup as desired. Serve the soto warm, not piping hot, which will allow guests to discern its layered flavors more clearly. It will taste even more delicious reheated the next day.

Note: You can buy fried shallots in bags or plastic containers at Asian markets. To make your own: Cut 7 shallots (about 6 ounces) into paper-thin slices. Pour peanut oil to a depth of 1 inch into a 1 1/2 quart saucepan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add as many shallot slices as will comfortably fit in the pan. Using a slotted spoon, move the shallots around until they turn a uniform light-gold color, about 2 to 3 minutes. When ready, remove from oil and drain on paper towels. They will crisp up after a minute or two.

From Cradle of Flavor by way of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer