SOTO

Soto is a traditional Indonesian soup mainly composed of broth, meat, and vegetables. Many
traditional soups are called soto, whereas foreign and Western influenced soups are called sop.
Soto is sometimes considered Indonesia's national dish, as it is served from Sumatra to Papua,
in a wide range of variations. 

In the Indonesian archipelago, soto is known by different names. In the local Javanese dialect, it

is called soto, and the dish also reached Makassar where it is called coto. Soto is found to be
most prevalent in Java, and suggested that the hearty soup was originated from that island, and
over the years this dish branched off in an assorted array of soto varieties. [7]
Although soto was undoubtedly developed in the Indonesian archipelago and each region has
developed its own distinctive soto recipes, some historians suggest that it was probably
influenced by foreign culinary tradition, especially Chinese. Denys Lombard in his book Le
Carrefour Javanais suggested that the origin of soto was a Chinese soup, caudo (Chinese: 草
肚; pinyin: tsháu-tōo; literally "Tripe"), popular in Semarang among Chinese immigrants during
colonial VOC era, circa 17th century.[8]
Another scholar suggests that it was more likely a mixture of cooking traditions in the region,
namely Chinese, Indian, and native Indonesian cuisine. [9] There are traces of Chinese influence
such as the use of bihun (rice vermicelli) and the preference for fried garlic as a condiment, while
the use of turmeric suggests Indian influence. Another example is soto betawi from Jakarta
uses minyak samin (ghee), which indicates Arab or Muslim Indian influences.[10] Another historian
suggest that some soto recipe reflects the past condition of its people. Soto tangkar, which today
is a meat soup, was mostly made from the broth of goat rib-cage bones (Betawi:tangkar) in the
past because meat was expensive, or the common population of Batavia were too poor to afford
some meat back then.[11] Soto recipes has been highly localized according to local tradition and
available ingredients, for example in Hindu-majority island of Bali, soto babi (pork soto) can be
found, since Hindu Balinese prefer pork while beef is seldom consumed, they also do not shared
Indonesian Muslim halal dietary law that forbid the consumption of pork.
The meat soup dish influenced various regions and each developed its own recipes, with the
ingredients being highly localized according to available ingredients and local cooking traditions.
As a result, rich variants of soto were developed across Indonesia.
In 2018, soto was officially recognised by the Indonesian government as one of the country's five
national dishes: the others are nasi goreng, sate, rendang, and gado-gado.[2] Also in 2018, soto is
promoted in Asian Festival in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex during 2018 Asian Games in
Jakarta as a dish that represent the diversity of Indonesia. With the theme "Unity in Diversoto"
presented in the food court, visitors had the opportunity to samples various regional sotos of
Indonesia, thus it has become visitors' favourite in Asian Festival during 2018 Asian Games. [12]