{"id":186358,"title":"Saoto soup","modified":"2026-10-06T08:58:49+02:00","plain":"A lower-carb saoto soup: a clear chicken broth infused with aromatics, garnished at the table and spiced up with a hot ketjap sauce.\n\n\n\nLemongrass and ginger perfume the clear broth, while salty pork cracklings add a crisp crunch. Saoto soup is a bowl of intensely aromatic chicken broth, served with toppings added at the last minute and a spicy ketjap sauce. This version keeps the components separate for serving but cuts back on carbs, with around 21 g of net carbs per serving. This recipe joins my collection of keto soups and salads.\n\n\n\nWhat is saoto soup?\n\n\n\nSaoto soup is a clear chicken broth made with bone-in pieces, then garnished at the table. Galangal, ginger, lemongrass and allspice form the backbone of the broth, while makrut lime leaves and daun salam round out its aroma. Shredded chicken, egg, mung bean sprouts and leaf celery go into the bowl.\n\n\n\nHere, the crunch comes from pork cracklings, which replace the fried onions, rice vermicelli and thin fries used in the classic fully garnished version. A ketjap sauce made with half to one whole Madame Jeanette chili lets you adjust the heat and sweet-salty flavor when serving.\n\n\n\nAlso worth a try: Roasted pepper soup.\n\n\n\nThe origins of this version\n\n\n\nSaoto is traditionally served with its components kept separate, and this adaptation follows that principle. The broth remains an intensely fragrant clear broth, set alongside the toppings and punchy sauce so everyone can assemble their own bowl.\n\n\n\nThe two changes focus on carbohydrate content. A starch-free crunchy topping, pork cracklings, takes the place of the fried ingredients, and reduced-sugar ketjap preserves the rounded sweet-salty flavor. The result is still hearty, but a little more restrained.\n\n\n\nThe main ingredients\n\n\n\nTwo skinless chicken legs with part of the ribs attached form the base of the broth: the meat stays juicy and the bones give the liquid body, while removing the skin keeps the broth clear. The water, 1 to 1.5 liters, extracts the flavors, and bouillon powder boosts the umami, though you should watch the salt.\n\n\n\nAlso try: Chickpea and Tuna Salad.\n\n\n\nRed onions and garlic provide sweetness and depth, peppery galangal complements the bright ginger, and slitting the lemongrass releases its oils. Allspice brings notes of cinnamon and cloves without heat, makrut lime adds its citrus touch, and daun salam its distinctive fragrance. A small piece of trassi, a fermented shrimp paste, adds briny depth and contains crustaceans.\n\n\n\nThe sauce delivers the heat and sweet-salty flavor. Reduced-sugar ketjap provides the balance; if unavailable, a mixture of soy sauce or tamari and caramel-flavored liquid sweetener comes close to that rounded flavor. Crumbled pork cracklings add a dry, salty, brittle crunch just before eating.\n\n\n\nAlong the same lines: Asian cabbage salad.\n\n\n\nTechnique and serving tips\n\n\n\nServing the components separately is part of the pleasure of saoto. The broth arrives piping hot, the shredded chicken, eggs, sprouts, celery and pork cracklings stay separate, and the hot sauce is added a little at a time. Taste the broth before adding anything: bouillon powder, trassi, soy sauce and pork cracklings can quickly make the bowl salty. Add the cracklings at the last minute, otherwise they soften and become tough.\n\n\n\nFor everyday keto cooking, here are all my low-carb recipes.\n\n\n\nFor mung bean sprouts, rinsing with very hot water preserves their crunch, but anyone who is pregnant, immunocompromised or has a sensitive digestive system should opt to cook them thoroughly. Cool the broth and chicken quickly, and store the eggs, sprouts, celery, sauce and pork cracklings separately, keeping the cracklings dry. In France, galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime can be found in Asian grocery stores, sometimes frozen; daun salam and trassi are available in Indonesian stores, and Madame Jeanette chilies in Surinamese or Caribbean grocery stores.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tSaoto Soup\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tBroth2 chicken legs with part of the rib cage attached (skin removed)1 to 1.5 l waterbouillon powder2 to 3 red onions4 cloves garlic1 large piece fresh galangal1 large piece fresh ginger (djah\u00e9)2 stalks fresh lemongrass1 tablespoon whole allspice berries4 makrut lime leaves (djeroek poeroet)4 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salaam)1 small piece trassiGarnish4 eggs200 g pork cracklings4 handfuls mung bean sprouts4 handfuls fresh leaf celery leavesSauce0.5 to 1 Madame Jeanette chili4 cloves garlic1 small piece fresh galangal1 small piece fresh ginger6 tablespoons ketjap (low-carb (homemade), or 4 tablespoons of liquid caramel sweetener with 4 teaspoons of soy sauce or tamari)\t\n\t\n\t\tBrothPlace 2 large chicken legs with part of the rib cage attached in 1 to 1.5 liters of water. I find chicken legs work best, as the bones also make a good broth. I am a big fan of the skin on a chicken leg. In soup, however, it adds an unpleasant layer of fat. So remove the skin.Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of bouillon powder.Add the onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and allspice berries. Add everything in large pieces if desired (but do peel the onion and garlic). Slit the lemongrass lengthwise or break and bruise it.Let the broth simmer for about an hour.Remove the chicken from the pot. Pull the meat off the bones and set aside for a while. Depending on how soon you plan to serve the soup, keep it covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.Return the bones to the pot and let them infuse for as long as desired, preferably even overnight. Using chicken legs with part of the rib cage attached allows you to extract even more beneficial substances from the bones and giblets.SaucePound or grind a Madame Jeanette chili.Add garlic, ginger and galangal to taste and pound them with the chili. First press the garlic and grate the ginger and galangal.Saut\u00e9 briefly in a little mild olive oil or coconut oil.Add the ketjap. If homemade ketjap is not available, use soy sauce and syrup made with a sugar substitute.GarnishBoil (8 min) and peel 4 eggs.Rinse the mung bean sprouts under hot water or briefly immerse them in a bowl of hot water. Leave to drain.Grind the pork cracklings in a food processor. Chop the celery with a knife or scissors. Place everything in separate small bowls, along with the chicken previously pulled off the bones.\t\n\t\n\t\tAdd the ground pork cracklings only at the last minute. If they sit in the soup for too long, they become soft and tough.\nEquipment: soup pot, grater (box grater), scissors, garlic press, bowl, spoon.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tSoupes et bouillonsindon\u00e9sienne","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}