Indonesian Minestrone (Sop Merah)

Vibrant scarlet color soup that’s not only pleasant to the eyes, but also very delightful to the mouth. This Sop Merah (or known as the Indonesian Minestrone) is unique, and commonly be found in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. It is served at party gathering, wedding banquet, potluck, or just regular meals at home. It is basically a great soup that you can have pretty much on any occasions.

This soup gets its vibrant red color from the tomato and its taste is very similar to Minestrone with a tiny slight difference. Both soups have rich, thick, savory, and complex flavor. However, Sop Merah has warm, light nutty flavor that makes it unique. Perfect to have if you are under the weather as well. In addition, this Sop Merah is very easy to make as well. Once you have all the ingredients prepared, basically you just “dump” everything into the pot and let the heat do the cooking. Sounds simple, isn’t it? Let’s get cooking!

Tool I used:

• Nonstick dutch oven – Slick looking, durable, versatile and distribute heat evenly. This dutch oven is safe for use in the refrigerator, freezer, oven and can be washed in the dishwasher as well.
• Blender – I love this blender as it is not too bulky, great for making smoothie, blend some spices, and easy to clean. Also, believe it or not, this blender can also crush ice!

Tip: To reduce the tanginess of the tomato flavor, use sugar. If it is too tangy, add a bit more sugar. Also, you can add different types of vegetables in this soup such as white mushrooms, green peas, broccoli and so on. To make it a full meal, you can even add some sort of pasta like macaroni, tortellini, fusilli, or penne pasta – you got the idea.

Ingredient:

• 1 piece chicken breast – cut into dices
• ½ pack sausages (about 4-5 pieces) – sliced into smaller pieces
• 1 can spam – cut into dices
• 2 small carrots – cut into dices
• 1 medium-sized onion – chopped
• 3 cloves garlic – minced
• ½ cup celery leaves – chopped
• 3 medium-sized tomato – cut into quarters
• 1 small can (6oz) tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon butter/margarine
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg powder
• Salt, sugar, and white pepper to taste
• Fried shallot to garnish

Direction:

• In a blender, add cut tomatoes, and tomato paste. Blend it until smooth and strain the tomato juice. Set it aside.
• Pre-heat butter in a dutch oven under low-medium heat. Once the butter melted, add minced garlic, and chopped onion. Cook until they are fragrant.
• Afterwards, add diced chicken, sausages, spam, and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Then, add chicken broth, carrots, tomato juices, ketchup, nutmeg powder, celery leaves, salt, sugar and white pepper. Give it a good stir. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
• Lower the heat to low and let it simmer until the carrots are soft or about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with fried shallot and enjoy!