Soto Lamongan, another cuisine from East Java that you must try

Soto Lamongan, another cuisine from East Java that you must try if you visit Indonesia is a continuation of the story about East Java tourism

maybe many of you are not familiar with this food

but Soto Lamongan is one of the most famous East Java cuisines in Indonesia

There are many Soto stalls scattered in every city in Indonesia

So the good news is that if you don’t have time to eat this soup in your hometown, you can still taste it anywhere

What is Soto?

If you have lived in Indonesia or you have friends who have lived in Indonesia for a long time, you will definitely be familiar with this type of cuisine

Soto is one of the traditional Indonesian foods that are very popular with Indonesian people

Every region in Indonesia has this cuisine according to the region

For example, the city of Lamongan in East Java has something called Soto Lamongan

but if you go to other areas for example Semarang in Central Java

this city also has its own Soto called Soto Semarang

So if you want to try every Soto in Indonesia you won’t be able to because there are too many types

so what exactly is Soto?

Soto is a kind of soup because, for Westerners, all foods that contain water are called soup,

so that you can easily understand what Soto is,

the simplest explanation is that Soto is a kind of soup, just like Rawon, which I wrote yesterday.

then what is the difference with Rawon? I will explain this later

The History of Soto in Indonesia

Soto is actually not originally food from Indonesia but from China

This cuisine was brought by the Chinese from the Hokkien ethnic to Indonesia

The name Soto is taken from the Hokian language Jao do or Cau do which means spiced offal

as I have told you culinary in Indonesia is the result of crossing or mixing many cultures

and one example of this mixed culture is Soto

but along with the development of the era, Soto no longer only contains offal but also meat

Even the younger generation of Indonesians prefer beef soup over offal for the reason it’s healthier

Along with the spread of Indonesian people of Chinese descent who spread throughout the region of Indonesia,

even this cuisine also spreads and adapts to the style of each region of origin.

Now every region in Indonesia has this Soto dish

and the naming is only by adding the name of the region,

such as this dish, this means that this Soto is typical of the Lamongan region

Soto Lamongan

Now I will explain what Soto Lamongan is and how is it different from Rawon

Soto Lamongan is a Soto that developed in the Lamongan area

which has a characteristic compared to Soto from other regions, namely the addition of Koya powder.

Koya is made from prawn crackers or fried garlic which is pounded until smooth and becomes powder

The color of this soup is yellow and contains chicken

So what’s the difference between Soto Lamongan and Rawon?

the main difference is of course  the seasoning, it does not use Kluwek fruit so the sauce is not black

The second difference is that the sauce is yellow while Rawon’s sauce is black

Soto Lamongan contains chicken meat while Rawon contains beef

Soto Lamongan adds Koya powder as a flavor enhancer, while Rawon does not use Koya powder

Ingredients for cooking Soto Lamongan

The ingredients for making Soto Lamongan are almost the same as Rawon,

But it does not use Kluwek fruit but uses galangal and turmeric

and also uses chicken meat as the filling.

as well as the addition of Koya powder as a compliment

Okay, guys, I think it’s better if you taste it by yourself when you visit Indonesia one day!