Bakso (Beef Meatball Soup)
Photo: Muhammad Arifin Nursalim / Unsplash
Springy, bouncy beef meatballs in a clear garlic broth with noodles, greens, celery leaves and fried shallots. Add sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a squeeze of lime at the table.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Blend the meatball mix
Put the cold beef, tapioca starch, egg white, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of salt, the white pepper and sugar in a food processor. Blend, adding the ice water a little at a time, for 2–3 minutes until it becomes a smooth, sticky paste. Keeping it cold makes the meatballs bouncy.
Shape the meatballs
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle bubble (not a hard boil). Wet your hands. Squeeze some paste up through your fist and scoop off a ball the size of a walnut with a wet spoon. Drop it into the water. Repeat with the rest.
Cook the meatballs
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Make the broth
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Cook the noodles and greens
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Serve
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Blend the meatball mix
Put the cold beef, tapioca starch, egg white, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of salt, the white pepper and sugar in a food processor. Blend, adding the ice water a little at a time, for 2–3 minutes until it becomes a smooth, sticky paste. Keeping it cold makes the meatballs bouncy.
Shape the meatballs
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle bubble (not a hard boil). Wet your hands. Squeeze some paste up through your fist and scoop off a ball the size of a walnut with a wet spoon. Drop it into the water. Repeat with the rest.
Cook the meatballs
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Make the broth
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Cook the noodles and greens
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
The word bakso comes from the Hokkien Chinese word for 'shredded meat'. Chinese immigrants made pork meatballs, and Indonesian cooks switched to beef so that the mostly Muslim population could eat them.
Today bakso carts are everywhere in Indonesia. The seller taps a bowl with a spoon as they walk, and people run out to buy a bowl.
⭐ Why It's Famous
The meatballs are famously bouncy, and adding your own sweet soy, chili and lime makes each bowl personal.
💡 Fun Fact
Barack Obama lived in Jakarta as a child, and when he gave a speech there as president in 2010, bakso was one of the foods he fondly named.
Indonesia, from Chinese roots
-7.97°S, 112.63°E
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