Makassar Feast Dish · Kluwek Beef Rib Soup
Sop Konro
Photo: Veriyanta Kusuma / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Konro bakar, the grilled version, grew out of the soup: the simmered ribs are basted with spice paste and charred over charcoal, then served with the dark broth on the side.
Beef ribs are simmered for hours in a dark broth colored by fermented kluwek nuts and given richness from grated coconut, tamarind, and toasted spices, until the meat falls easily from the bone. Makassar's street warungs serve it with rice or pressed rice cake, and often grill the ribs over charcoal afterward for a smoky bakar version.
Why it's made this way: Sop konro has roots in Bugis-Makassar celebration cooking, traditionally served at weddings and Eid feasts, and its use of kluwek links it to the same fermented-nut flavor base that colors rawon in East Java, a shared ingredient that traveled along trade and migration routes across the archipelago.
More from Indonesia
Es Cendol
Sate (Skewered Grilled Meat)
Gado-Gado (Vegetable Salad with Peanut Sauce)
Bakso
Martabak
Sate Padang
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.