Delicious Jakarta (Betawi)-style spicy coconut chicken noodle soup you can easily put together and it is perfect for any day of the week.
Laksa dish is a popular spicy noodle dish in Southeast Asian food especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is considered a Peranakan dish (a cross between the Chinese immigrants and the local natives). Each country has its own varieties. There are many different kinds of laksa throughout Southeast Asia. The one that I’m familiar with are: ASAM LAKSA MEDAN and SINGAPORE KATONG LAKSA. Though most laksa dishes have coconut milk in it, asam laksa Medan and Penang laksa don’t.
Of course, there are still many other kinds that I haven’t tried. Even in Indonesia alone there are like laksa Bogor, laksa (Laksan) Palembang, laksa Banjar, laksa Tangerang that I haven’t had a chance to try.
LAKSA BETAWI IS MUCH EASIER TO PREPARE
Laksa Betawi is originated in Batavia (the old days Jakarta). Most laksa dishes have a similarity where it uses something with strong umami flavor like dried shrimp, shrimp paste, or fish to add that extra boost of flavor. Laksa Betawi uses dried shrimp (ebi/hebi) for that extra boost. I considered laksa ayam Betawi as the easiest laksa to prepare compared to asam laksa and Singapore katong laksa. Don’t be fooled by what seems like a long list of ingredients in the recipe card, but they are pretty straight forward to prepare.
HOW TO MAKE LAKSA AYAM BETAWI
1. Preheat a large heavy-bottom pot. Add cooking oil (if you haven’t added it when you grind the ingredients). Add the ground ingredients and stir fry until they smell really good, about 3 minutes or so
2. Add the chicken pieces followed by turmeric, coriander, galangal powder, and seasonings. Stir to mix everything and cook until the chicken just turn opaque
3. Add chicken broth, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer until the chicken pieces are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes
4. Then stir in the coconut milk. Have a taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste
5. Portion the cooked noodles into an individual serving bowl. Portion out some chicken pieces. and beansprouts. Ladle the hot soup over. Add hard-boiled pieces, chopped green onions, bawang goreng, and fresh mint and/or basil leaves. Serve immediately when it’s warm
This is especially perfect for when the weather is still cold or during transitional weather like Spring or Fall. In Indonesia though, where the weather is warm most of the time, we don’t really eat based on the season. We will eat this laksa noodle soup even if it’s 100 F out there 🙂
DID YOU MAKE THIS LAKSA AYAM BETAWI RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Laksa Ayam Betawi (Jakarta Coconut Chicken Soup)
Ingredients
- 800 gr chicken breast fillet about 28 oz, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups coconut milk
Ingredients to grind:
- 30 gr dried shrimp soak in warm water until soft
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp sambal oelek or more if you want it spicier. You can also use this chili paste
Spices and herbs:
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp galangal powder
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
Seasonings:
- 2 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1 tsp sugar or more to taste
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
Choice of noodles: (choose one)
- Rice noodles (bihun) prepare according to directions on the package
- mungbean thread noodles (soun) prepare according to directions on the package
Serve with:
- 200 gr mungbean sprouts (tauge) blanched in hot water
- 2 hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters
- Crispy fried shallots / bawang goreng
- Emping crackers
- Limes
Garnishes:
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- Fresh mints and/or basil leaves
Instructions
- Place all ingredients to grind in a food processor and process into a paste. Add the cooking oil to help it going
- Preheat a large heavy-bottom pot. Add cooking oil (if you haven't added it when you grind the ingredients above). Add the ground ingredients and stir fry until they smell really good, about 3 minutes or so
- Add the chicken pieces followed by turmeric, coriander, galangal powder, and seasonings. Stir to mix everything and cook until the chicken just turn opaque and add chicken broth, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer until the chicken pieces are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Then stir in the coconut milk. Have a taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste
Serving:
- Portion the cooked noodles into individual serving bowl. Portion out some chicken pieces. and beansprouts. Ladle the hot soup over
- Add hard-boiled pieces, chopped green onions, bawang goreng, and fresh mint and/or basil leaves. Squeeze some lime juice over if you like. Serve immediately when it's warm with some emping crackers if you have some
4 comments
Hi Mbak Marvel,
Are u using yellow or red onion for the recipe?
I don’t have coriander nor galangal powder in my kitchen, would b ok if am using bit of fresh galangal n skip da coriander powder n maybe just add some coriander leaves on the soup?
Appreciate ur advice, plan 2 cook it for dinner 2nite;-)
Cheers,
Poppy
Hi Poppy, I used red onion, but you can use yellow onion too. It shouldn’t affect the flavor too much. Fresh galangal is perfectly fine. Coriander powder (ketumbar)has totally different flavor from coriander leaves. You can skip coriander powder though. You can still eat coriander leaves for garnish though, I like that too on this laksa ayam Betawi 🙂
I cooked it this evening and it was delicious, thank you for sharing recipes and teaching us how to cook.
You are very welcome Lynda!!! I’m going to post the gulai ayam very soon and will let you know when I do that 🙂