Soto Ayam: Indonesian Chicken and Turmeric Noodle Soup

Poach the chicken. Put the chicken, cold water, lemongrass, lime leaves and salt in the large saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat, skimming off the grey foam as it rises. Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 30 minutes, until the thickest thigh reads at least 74 °C next to the bone. Starting in cold water and skimming early gives a clearer broth.

Shred and strain. Lift the chicken onto a plate and let it rest for 10 minutes, then discard the skin and bones and pull the meat into strips with two forks. Strain the broth through the sieve into the bowl; you want about 1.6 litres, so top up with water if needed. Pour it back into the pan with the lemongrass and lime leaves so they keep infusing.

Make the spice paste. Toast the peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds in the dry frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until they smell warm and nutty, then grind them. Pound or blend them with the candlenuts, shallots, garlic, ginger and turmeric to a fine paste, adding a spoonful of water if it sticks. Toasting wakes up the oils in the seeds, so the paste tastes rounder.

Fry the paste. Heat the oil in the same frying pan over medium heat and fry the paste for 5-7 minutes, stirring, until it smells cooked rather than raw and the oil begins to separate at the edges. Scrape it into the broth, rinse the pan with a ladle of broth so nothing is wasted, and simmer for 15 minutes. Frying first mellows the shallots and garlic and carries the turmeric's colour into the soup.

Cook eggs and noodles. Lower the eggs into boiling water in the small saucepan and cook for 10 minutes, then cool them in cold water, peel and halve; the yolks should be fully set. Meanwhile cover the glass noodles with just-boiled water in the heatproof bowl for 8-10 minutes, until soft and clear, then drain and snip into shorter lengths. Short noodles are much easier to eat with a spoon.

Warm the chicken. Return the shredded chicken to the broth for 2 minutes to heat through. Taste and brighten it with a squeeze of lime. Adding the chicken at the end keeps it tender rather than stringy.

Build the bowls. Divide the noodles and bean sprouts between four deep bowls and ladle over the hot broth and chicken. Top with the eggs, spring onions, celery leaves and fried shallots, and pass round lime wedges and sambal. The hot broth softens the sprouts just enough while leaving them crunchy.