Tantalising tastes and memories from my childhood days and when I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for a month in the late 80s.

My take on this combination of Chinese/Malay/Indonesian influenced Soto Mee dish did not start off with the right taste in my first attempt. The addition of more spices made it a satisfying meal, at least for me, and eased my craving for this dish.

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast

2 cups chicken stock

2 stalks lemongrass

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 star anise

Chinese thick yellow noodle (normally used for Singapore Hokkien mee, not to be confused with Hong Kong noodles)

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup bean sprouts

1 hard boiled egg, sliced

Method: 

• Cook the chicken breast in the chicken stock. Remove and shred the cooked chicken breast. Leave aside for later use.
• Add the onion, lemon grass and spices (turmeric, coriander, pepper, star anise) into the stock and boil.
• When the soup reaches boiling point, turn the heat to simmer. Simmer the soup for 20-30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
• Preparation of the Hokkien mee. Blanch the noodles in hot water, remove and cool in cold water. Drain.
• Blanch the bean sprouts.
• To serve, add noodles to a bowl, topped with bean sprouts, shredded chicken & hard boiled egg. Ladle the hot soup over the ingredients and serve.