Bakso (Indonesian Meatball Soup)

Indonesian meat balls have different textures from western style meat balls such as Italian meat balls. Italian meat balls are little bit coarse, loose and soft whilst bakso smooth, dense/homogeneous and springy. The key of good bakso is springy. However, some unwanted additive are added during making bakso to make it springy such as formalin (formaldehyde) and borax which are prohibited and very dangerous for human health.


There are some varieties of bakso such as bakso urat (tendon meat balls), bakso tenis/telur (big size meat ball with hard boiled egg as filling), fish balls, shrimp balls, bakso Malang, bakso bakar, bakso keju (cheese meat balls), etc. Bakso commonly serve in soup, noodle soup, nasi goreng (fried rice), stir fry dishes or as mie ayam companion.

It is believed that bakso was brought by Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia. The name Bakso originates from bak – so, the Chinese Hokkien dialect pronunciation for shredded meat. Bakso is commonly made from beef; however it can also be made from other ingredients such as chicken, pork, squid, fish or shrimp. Follow my recipe to make delicious Bakso on your own! …yup … It’s easy and fun to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients

To Make meatballs

- 250 gram minced beef

- 35 gram tapioca flour

- 75 gram crushed ice cube

- 2 white eggs

- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 tablespoons of fried garlic

- 2 tablespoons fried shallots

- salt and pepper to taste

To make the broth

- 250 gram Beef ribs ( young beef bones are the best to make broth, cooked a day before and store)

- 1/2 teaspoon pepper

- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed and fried

- 1 stalk celery leaf, finely chopped

- 1 stalk onion spring, finely chopped

- Salt to taste

- 750 ml water


Additional Ingredients

- Fried Tofu Meatball (Bakwan Tahu Goreng)

- Fried meatball (Gorengan Bakso)

- 150 g dried egg noodles, cook and set aside

- Green salad or Bak Choy ( Chinese cabbage or Indonesian : Sawi)

- Fried shallots

- Sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

- Chilli sauce (sambal)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients for meatball and grind them in food processor until it's sticky. Then put in fridge for 45 minutes to one hour.

2. Boil some water for cooking the meatball. Scoop with 2 tablespoons and make round ball and drop the meatballs into boiling water. When it's floating, it means it's done. Set aside.

3. Make the broth : boil the beef ribs into 750 ml water, add the salt, pepper and the rest of ingredients. Cook until it's boiling. Then add the meatballs inside.

4. Serve the meatball with cooked egg noodle, green salad, bakwan tahu, gorengan bakso and garnish fried shallots. Add sweet soy sauce and sambal if you like. Then pour with the broth. Eat when it's hot or warm.

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