Home > Soto Mie (Bogor Beef Noodle Soup)

Soto Mie (Bogor Beef Noodle Soup)

Posting Date: 08/08/19

Soto Mie (Bogor Beef Noodle Soup) originated in Bogor, West Java but you can find it in Jakarta. It is sold by street vendors. Soto means soup while mie means noodles. The soup uses egg noodles but it is also served with rice vermicelli. This is one of Indonesian soups that is served with a mixture of 2 kinds of noodles. Because of the noodles used, this dish is considered as main dish rather than soup.

Traditionally, the soup is served with beef meat and offal. The offal used is normally tripe. In the recipe, I omit using beef offal since it is difficult to find and not many people like it. I don't think you will miss the offal unless it is your favorite.

This is my favorite Indonesian soup because it is served with Risol Bihun (Indonesian Rice Vermicelli Spring Roll) which adds crunchiness to the soup and the soup tastes tangy from the lime juice or vinegar and salty from the salt and soy sauce and if you add chili paste, it also becomes hot. If you like sweet, you can drizzle sweet soy sauce. Please note that even though the recipe uses homemade risol bihun, you can substitute with store bought spring rolls if you want to save time. I use store bought spring rolls many times.

Even though the noodle uses beef, you can make a vegetarian version of this dish by omitting the beef, not using beef broth, and making sure the spring rolls are vegetarian if you buy them from the store. The homemade spring rolls are vegetarian. Most of the time, I make vegetarian version of this soup rather than the beef one and it still tastes delicious because the key to this soup is the spice paste and seasonings used.

The recipe serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

4 bundles of egg noodles. Asian noodle package is sold with several bundles of noodles. Each bundle is for 1 serving.
1 sheet of rice vermicelli. Rice vermicelli is sold in several sheets per package. One sheet is for 1-2 people.
500 gram (1 lb) beef meat. I use beef tenderloin but you can use any cut you like.
1200 ml water. Instead of using water, you may use beef broth to add more beef flavor.
For spice paste: 5 small or 1 large size shallots, quartered
For spice paste: 4 cloves of garlic, halved
For spice paste: 1/2 tablespoon sambal oelek. If you like it hot, you can add more sambal oelek.
For spice paste: 1/4 turmeric powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lemongrass, white part smashed and green part discarded
3 bay leaves
1" ginger, sliced
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
pinch of black pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
1 tablespoon soy sauce or to taste
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup sliced cabbage
1 green onion, sliced
3 or 4 risol bihun (Indonesian Rice Vermicelli Spring roll), sliced. Click here for the recipe. If you are pressed with time or don't want to make homemade risol bihun, you can buy frozen spring rolls from Asian stores. Some big grocery stores also sell them in the freezer section. If you use frozen spring rolls, follow the package directions on how to fry them.
Optional: For serving: lime wedges. Instead of lime wedges, you can drizzle it with white vinegar. The lime or vinegar is used to add tanginess to the soup. You don't need to add lime juice or vinegar if you don't want it.
Optional: For serving: sambal oelek
Optional: For serving: sweet soy sauce
Optional: for serving: fried onions

Methods:

Cook rice vermicelli according to package directions. Once it is fully cooked, drain it and rinse vermicelli with cold water until the vermicelli is cool to the touch. This is to make sure vermicelli is not going to stick with each other. Leave the vermicelli on a colander for 10-15 min to remove excess water. Set it aside.
Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Once they are fully cooked, drain them and rinse the noodles with cold water until the noodles are cool to the touch. This is to make noodles are not going to stick with each other. Leave the noodles on a colander for 10-15 min to remove excess water. Set it aside.
While the noodles are cooking, place beef meat into a pot. Add 1200 ml water into the pot. Cook until meat is fully cooked. Using tongs, remove the meat and set it aside to cool down but do not throw away the liquid used to cook the meat. The liquid will be used as soup broth. Strain the liquid using fine mesh strainer to remove the foam from the broth. Set aside the broth liquid. Once the meat has cooled down, slice the meat into bite size.
While the meat is cooking, place shallots, garlic, sambal oelek, and turmeric powder into a food processor. Pulse the food processor until the spice becomes smooth like a paste.
Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil into a pot. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add spice paste, bay leaves, lemongrass, and ginger into the pot and saute until the paste becomes fragrant and shallots are fully cooked. Slowly add the soup broth into the pot to prevent splattering. Add salt, sugar, pepper, and soy sauce into the pot. Taste it and add more seasoning if needed. Bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, simmer for 15 min. If you prefer slightly cooked (blanched) tomato and cabbage, add cabbage and tomato after 15 min of simmering. Simmer it for another 1-2 min. Remove the pot from the heat. Discard lemongrass, bay leaves, and ginger.
To serve, divide noodles and vermicelli into 4 servings. Place each serving of noodles and vermicelli into a bowl. Add soup broth into the bowl. Top the bowl with tomato, cabbage, green onion, and risol bihun (Indonesian Rice Vermicelli Spring Roll). If preferred, serve it with lime wedge, sambal oelek, and sweet soy sauce on the side and top the soup with fried onion. Before you eat it, make sure you mix the noodles and vermicelli with the broth first to make sure they absorb the flavor from the broth.

All images, materials, and recipes on Indonesiancooking101.com are protected by copyright. Please do not use or republish the recipes, materials, or images without prior written permission from Indonesian Cooking 101. If you want to share this recipe, please share the link rather than the whole recipe.