Bakso
Indonesia's beloved meatball soup, its name from the Hokkien 'bak-so,' introduced by Chinese immigrants who brought pork meatball traditions that Indonesians adapted using halal beef and local spicing, later fully indigenized as a national street food. It's an independent adaptation, not directly related to Vietnamese meatball soups, which trace to their own separate Chinese-immigrant lineage. Real bakso gets its distinctive bouncy, springy texture from tapioca starch worked into the beef paste and vigorous pounding, an authenticity marker that produces a texture soft, mushy home versions usually miss.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Gluten. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 500g ground beef
- 100g tapioca starch
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- Salt
- Ice water
- 1.5 liters beef stock
- Fried shallots and garlic oil
- Celery leaf
- Rice vermicelli or yellow noodles
- Bean sprouts, fried tofu
- Sambal and sweet soy sauce, to serve
Steps
- Blend the beef, garlic, tapioca starch, pepper, salt, and ice water into a smooth paste.
- Shape into balls and poach in simmering water until they float.
- Prepare a clear beef stock finished with fried garlic and shallot oil.
- Assemble bowls with noodles, bean sprouts, meatballs, and tofu, then ladle over the hot stock.
- Top with fried shallots, celery leaf, and sambal.