Javanese
Saoto: the Javanese-Surinamese chicken soup
Saoto is a Javanese-Surinamese chicken soup: clear yellow broth with beansprouts, fried potato slices, fried onion, smoked chicken and half an egg, with sambal on the side. In Blauwgrond a bowl typically costs SRD 70 to SRD 150.
Flavour and texture
Clear and light, heavy on fried onion. The sambal sets the heat, not the broth.
Street price, indicative SRD 70–150
Saoto descends from Javanese soto and arrived with the Javanese indentured labourers brought to Suriname from 1890. Over a hundred and thirty years it has become its own dish: the Surinamese version carries more fried elements on top and a thinner, clearer broth than most Indonesian sotos.
That migration began in 1890, when the first ship of indentured labourers from the Dutch East Indies reached Suriname, recruited for plantations short of workers after the abolition of slavery in 1863 and the end of state supervision in 1873. Close to 33,000 people came before the last ship in 1939, most of them from central and eastern Java. The soto of their villages travelled with them.
The adaptation is on the plate. The fried elements piled on top became pronounced here, and the sambal is served in its own dish by definition: the heat is the eater's decision, not the cook's. Blauwgrond, where many Javanese families settled after their contracts ended, is still the neighbourhood you eat it in.
The distinctive part is that you finish it yourself. The broth arrives with the chicken, and beside it small dishes: beansprouts, fried potato slices, fried onion, prawn crackers, half an egg and sambal. You add what you like in the order you like, keeping the fried things on top so they stay crisp.
In Paramaribo saoto is mainly an evening dish. The Blauwgrond warungs open around six, and that is what Surinamese people themselves drive across town for.
Frequently asked questions
What is in saoto soup?
Clear yellow chicken broth built on turmeric, lemongrass and garlic, served with or alongside smoked or boiled chicken, beansprouts, fried potato slices, fried onion, prawn crackers, half a boiled egg and sambal on the side.
Where do you eat the best saoto in Paramaribo?
In Blauwgrond, the Javanese neighbourhood in the north of the city. The warungs there run from around six in the evening until late and a bowl typically costs SRD 70 to SRD 150. Our Blauwgrond evening tour (€55 per person) opens with it.
Is saoto spicy?
The broth itself is mild. All the heat sits in the sambal served separately, so you set the level.
What is saoto soup?
Saoto is the Javanese-Surinamese chicken soup: a clear yellow broth of turmeric, lemongrass and garlic with beansprouts, fried potato slices, fried onion, prawn crackers and half an egg. A bowl in Blauwgrond costs SRD 70 to SRD 150.
Where does saoto come from?
From Javanese soto. It came with the Javanese indentured labourers brought to Suriname from 1890, close to 33,000 people up to 1939, and gained a thinner broth and more fried garnish here.
What time do people eat saoto in Paramaribo?
In the evening. The Blauwgrond warungs open around six and run late; during the day saoto is much harder to find. That is why our Blauwgrond evening tour (€55 per person) starts after six.