List of Indonesian soups facts for kids

Soto ayam, a yummy Indonesian chicken soup.

Indonesia is a country made up of many islands, about 6,000 of them are lived on! Because of this, there are over 1,300 different groups of people, and each group has its own special foods. Indonesian soups are super tasty because they use lots of bumbu, which is a mix of spices.

You'll find many kinds of soups in Indonesia. Some are so hearty they can be a whole meal, while others are lighter. For example, the people from Makassar in South Sulawesi are famous for their rich beef soups. These soups often include ingredients like coconut and lemongrass.

What Kinds of Soups Are There?
Popular Indonesian Soups and Stews
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What Kinds of Soups Are There?

Sop buntut, a delicious Indonesian oxtail soup.

Indonesian soups and stews usually fit into four main groups. Let's explore them:

Soto are traditional Indonesian meat soups. They can have a clear broth or a rich coconut milk base. An example is soto ayam (chicken soto).
Sayur means vegetable stews. Think of dishes like sayur asem (sour vegetable soup) and sayur lodeh (vegetables in coconut milk).
Sop or sup usually refers to soups that have been influenced by Western cooking styles. A good example is sop buntut (oxtail soup).
Mi kuah are different kinds of noodle soups from Indonesia. These often come from Chinese and Peranakan cooking styles, like mi bakso kuah (meatball noodle soup) and laksa. In Indonesia, noodles aren't always called soup, because stir-fried noodles are also very popular.

This list includes soups that started in Indonesia and those that are just very common there.

Popular Indonesian Soups and Stews

Soto (Traditional Meat Soups)

Soto babat, a soto made with tripe.

Soto – This is a classic meat soup with many different versions.
Soto ayam – A popular chicken soto.
Soto babat – A soto made with tripe (part of a cow's stomach).
Soto babi – A Balinese soto made with pork.
Soto daging – Beef soup, often eaten with jeroan (offal) or quail egg satay.
Soto padang – A beef rice noodle soup with potatoes and egg, special to Padang.
Sroto or soto sokaraja – Soto served with a peanut sambal (chili sauce).
Coto makassar – A famous beef soup from Makassar, South Sulawesi, made with beef and offal.

Sayur (Vegetable Soups)

Binte biluhuta or Milu siram, a corn soup with skipjack tuna and shrimp.

Sayur asem, a tangy vegetable tamarind soup.

Binte biluhuta or Milu siram – A unique corn soup from Gorontalo. It tastes sweet from the Maize, sour from starfruit and lime, and spicy from chilies. It's often made with cakalang (skipjack tuna) and shrimp.
Brenebon or sayur kacang merah – Red kidney bean soup, often served in a broth made from boiled pig's trotters, beef, or chicken.
Sayur asem – This soup uses tamarind for its sour taste, along with vegetables like chayote, bilimbi, and melinjo.
Sayur bayam or sayur bening – A clear soup with spinach and corn, flavored with temu kunci.
Sayur lodeh – Vegetables cooked in a rich coconut milk soup.
Sayur sop – A vegetable soup with common beans, carrot, cabbages, potato, celery, cauliflower, and fried shallots, usually in chicken broth. It often has diced chicken too.
Sayur oyong – A clear vegetable soup made with okra or Luffa acutangula.
Sup ercis or erten – A thick soup made from green split peas, celery, onions, leeks, carrots, and sometimes potato.
Sup wortel – A soup where carrot is the main ingredient. It can be creamy or broth-based.

Chicken Soups

Opor ayam, chicken cooked in coconut milk soup.

Ayam buah keluak – Chicken rib stew cooked with special nuts from the Pangium edule tree.
Opor ayam – Made with chicken cooked in coconut milk. It's very common in Central Java and uses many other ingredients.
Sup ayam – Indonesian chicken soup with different vegetables like carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and mushrooms.
Sup krim – A creamy soup with milk, influenced by Western cooking. It's quite common now in Indonesia. You can find sup krim ayam (chicken cream soup), sup krim jamur (mushroom cream soup), and sup krim asparagus (asparagus cream soup).

Fish or Seafood Soups

Ikan kerapu kuah asam, grouper in sour soup from Manado.

Asam pedas – A sour and spicy fish stew.
Bakso ikan – Fish meatball soup.
Ikan kuah kuning – Fish soup in a clear yellow broth. It's a special dish from Maluku and Papua, often eaten with papeda.
Mangut – A Javanese fish soup made with coconut milk.
Pindang – Fish boiled with salt and sour spices, usually tamarind.
Pindang koyong – Fish cooked in a yellow gravy, similar to soto, a specialty from Banyuwangi, East Java.
Pindang serani – A pindang made with different kinds of seafood and milkfish.
Pindang tongkol – A pindang made using processed mackerel tuna.
Sup cakalang kuah kuning – Skipjack tuna in a yellow spicy soup, a specialty of Manado, North Sulawesi. It uses spices like turmeric, ginger, and chili.
Sup ikan – Fish soup, special to Batam island. It usually has red snapper and dried shrimp, seasoned with shallot, garlic, and pepper.
Sup ikan kuah asam – Seafood fish in sour soup, a specialty of Gorontalo and Minahasan cuisine, North Sulawesi. Many types of fish can be used.
Sup krim kepiting – A creamy crab soup.
Sup udang pedas – A hot and spicy shrimp soup, made with shrimp, fishballs, mushrooms, and chili pepper.
Tekwan – A soup with fishcakes (like pempek), bihun rice noodles, jicama, and mushrooms, special to Palembang.

Meat and Offal Soups

Konro, a spicy ribs soup.

Tongseng, a sweet and spicy goat meat soup.

Bak kut teh – A pork rib dish cooked in broth with herbs and spices.
Bakso – A meatball soup. Meatballs can be made from beef, pork, chicken, or a mix. It often includes bok choy, tofu, hard-boiled egg, and fried shallots. It's a very popular street food in Indonesia.
Balungan – Bakso soup that includes balungan (bone) pieces.
Brongkos – A spicy meat and beans stew, special to Yogyakarta and Central Java.
Empal gentong – A spicy beef offal soup, special to Cirebon, West Java.
Feijoada – A Timorese bean soup with beef and pork, influenced by Portuguese cuisine.
Gulai – A stew or curry dish. It can be made with poultry, goat, beef, mutton, different kinds of offal, fish, seafood, or vegetables like cassava leaves.
Kaledo – A traditional spicy cow's trotters (feet) soup from Donggala, Central Sulawesi.
Katemak – Beef soup served with sweet potatoes, sweet corn, and green vegetables like cassava leaves.
Konro – A spicy ribs soup, special to Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Marak – Goat meat soup with pumpkin and chicken meat.
Pallubasa – A spicy beef or buffalo soup, special to Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Rawon – A beef soup with black keluak nuts, which give it a unique dark color. It started in East Java.
Saksang – A stew made from pork, dog, or water buffalo meat, cooked in its own blood, mixed with coconut milk and spices.
Saltah – A stew made of marak, a bit of fenugreek froth, and sahawiq (a sauce), based on Arab Indonesian cuisine.
Semur – A meat stew (usually beef) with sweet soy sauce and spices.
Sop buntut – Oxtail soup.
Sekba – Also called bektim, this is a Chinese Indonesian pork offal stew in a mild soy sauce-based soup.
Sop iga – An Indonesian cow rib soup with celery, tomato, and carrot.
Sop saudara – A spicy beef soup with pieces of beef and offal (often fried cow's lungs), rice vermicelli, perkedel (fried potato patty), and hard boiled egg. It uses many spices like garlic, ginger, and cinnamon.
Sop senerek – A traditional soup from Magelang with beef, red bean, carrot, tomato, celery, and some bawang goreng (fried shallots).
Sop kambing – Made with goat meat, tomato, celery, spring onion, ginger, and lime leaf. Its broth is yellow.
Tengkleng – Goat jeroan (offals) and tetelan (bony meat, usually from the rib cage) with spicy coconut milk, special to Solo.
Timlo solo – A beef and vegetable soup. Some versions also have noodles, like a beef noodle soup.
Tabu Moitomo – Also known as "black beef soup," this is a rich black soup using beef or poultry with many different herbs and spices.
Tongseng – A sweet and spicy goat meat soup, special to Solo, Central Java.

Noodle Soups

Laksa betawi, served with emping crackers.

Mie koclok, a chicken noodle soup.

Mie kuah, boiled noodles in Javanese style.

Bihun kuah – Rice vermicelli soup.
Kwetiau ayam – Flat noodle soup with chicken, sometimes served with pangsit (wonton) and bakso (meatball) soup.
Beef kway teow – Flat noodle soup with slices of beef or sometimes beef offal.
Laksa – A spicy noodle soup with different types based on Peranakan cooking. It has thick wheat noodles or rice vermicelli with chicken, prawn, or fish, served in a spicy soup that can be rich and creamy with coconut milk or sour with asam (tamarind).
Laksa banjar – Steamed noodle-like balls made from rice flour paste, served in a thick yellowish soup made from coconut milk, ground spices, and snakehead fish broth.
Laksa betawi – Laksa with rice vermicelli, beansprouts, and dried shrimp broth soup.
Laksa bogor – Laksa with rice vermicelli, beansprouts, and oncom (fermented soybean cake).
Laksa cibinong – A yellowish laksa made of coconut milk, spices, bean sprout, rice vermicelli, hard-boiled eggs, shredded chicken, fried shallots, and lemon-basil leaves.
Laksa medan – Asam laksa with flaked mackerel, wild ginger flower, lemongrass, and chili pepper.
Laksa tambelan – Laksa made of flaked sauteed smoked mackerel tuna or skipjack tuna, spices, and sagoo noodles, served in spicy kerisik (toasted coconut paste).
Laksa tangerang – Laksa made of rice noodles shaped like spaghetti, chicken stock, mung beans, potatoes, and chives.
Lakse kuah – Fish curry laksa, made of sagoo noodles with mashed tongkol or mackerel tuna, served in a spicy coconut milk curry.
Lakso – A spicy noodle soup served in a savory yellowish coconut milk-based soup, flavored with fish, and topped with fried shallots.
Mi ayam – Chicken noodle soup with chicken stock, boiled choy sim, celery leaves, diced chicken cooked with sweet soy sauce, and fried shallots. Some versions add mushrooms and fried or boiled pangsit (wonton). It's usually eaten with chili sauce.
Mi bakso – Bakso meatballs served with yellow noodles and rice vermicelli in beef broth.
Mi cakalang – Skipjack tuna noodle soup.
Mi celor – A noodle dish served in coconut milk soup and shrimp-based broth, special to Palembang, South Sumatra.
Mi kari – A soup curry noodle dish.
Mi koclok – Chicken noodle soup from Cirebon. It comes with cabbage, bean sprouts, boiled egg, and fried onion.
Mi kocok – (meaning "shaken noodle") is an Indonesian beef noodle soup from Bandung. It has noodles in a rich beef broth, kikil (beef tendon), bean sprouts, and bakso (beef meatball).
Mi kopyok – Noodle soup with garlic broth, fried tofu, and rice crackers.
Mi kuah – Literally "boiled noodles," made of yellow egg noodles with a spicy soup gravy.
Mi ongklok – Boiled noodles made with cabbage, chopped leaves, and a thick starchy soup called loh. Often served with satay and tempeh.
Mi pangsit – Noodle soup served with pangsit or soft-boiled wontons.
Soto mi – Noodle soup in a spicy soto broth.
Sup makaroni – Indonesian macaroni soup.