Soup · Chinese-Indonesian Classic

Bakso

Photo: Yoseph Syahriel / Unsplash · Unsplash License

Barack Obama has named bakso one of his favorite dishes from his childhood years in Jakarta.

Dense meatballs — usually beef, bound with tapioca flour for a springy, firm bite — are served in a clear broth with noodles, tofu, bean sprouts and fried shallots. Sold from pushcarts and roadside warungs across Indonesia.

Why it's made this way: Bakso traces back to Chinese immigrants who brought their meatball-making traditions to the archipelago; over generations it was adapted with local ingredients and spread nationwide through street-cart hawking.