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.
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.
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 (€39 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.