Pondok Bakso Idola

Bakso is commonly made from finely ground beef with a small quantity of tapioca flour and salt, however bakso can also be made from other ingredients, such as chicken, pork, fish or shrimp. Unlike other meatball recipes, bakso has a consistent firm, dense, homogeneous texture due to the polymerization of myosin in the beef surimi.

As most Indonesians are Muslims which observes halal dietary law, generally bakso is made from beef, chicken or the mixture of beef with chicken. While in non-Muslim majority areas, such as in Chinatowns in major cities and Hindu majority island of Bali, pork bakso might be found.

Traditionally the beef surimi paste or dough is made into balls using hands and boiled in hot water right away. After the meat are done, the meatballs are floating on boiling water, collected and being dried, stored or refrigerated for further use. Bunch of pre-cooked bakso are usually displayed in the window of a street vendor cart, and will be boiled in hot water per customer order, prior of serving.

Bakso are usually served in a bowl of beef broth, with yellow noodles, bihun (rice vermicelli), salted vegetables, tofu, egg (wrapped within bakso), Chinese green cabbage, bean sprout, siomay or steamed meat dumpling, and crisp wonton, sprinkled with fried shallots and celery. Slices of bakso often used and mixed as compliments in mi goreng, nasi goreng, or cap cai recipes.