Recipe 12 / 19
ID · Jakarta
Sop Buntut
A clear Jakarta restaurant-style oxtail soup with spoon-tender meat, intact potato and carrot, and a restrained perfume of nutmeg, clove, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper.
Build a clear amber broth and know exactly when oxtail is tender but still attached to the bone.
- Place & style
- Jakarta restaurant tradition Indonesian · Soup
- Yield
- 6 servings Beef · spice 0/5
- Time
- 3 hr 45 min 35 min prep · 3 hr 10 min cook
- Cook level
- Patient soup · beef · oxtail · Jakarta · halal-friendly · pressure-cooker option · meal prep
Bumbu / flavour foundation
onion, garlic, ginger, black pepper, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon
A five-minute blanch removes blood and loose protein, then a bare simmer dissolves collagen without emulsifying fat into the broth. Vegetables and nutmeg go in late so each stays distinct.
Equipment
- 6 L heavy soup pot
- fine sieve
- ladle
- tongs
- small frying pan
- pressure cooker optional
Read the visual cue before each step. The clock is guidance; the food decides when you move.
01 · Market sheet
Know what you are buying.
Every ingredient is shown in context, named in English and Bahasa Indonesia, and tied to its job in the dish.Meat or seafoodDaging atau seafood
1.2 kg
meaty beef oxtail pieces
buntut sapi berdaging
collagen-rich meat and the foundation of the clear stock
Watch: Ask for evenly cut meaty middle sections; thin tail tips give bone without enough meat.
Dry pantryBahan kering
5.5 L
fresh water
air bersih
separate blanching water and the measured soup stock base
15 g
fine salt
garam halus
seasons the standardised broth after reduction
4 g
white sugar
gula pasir
a small amount rounds the pepper and nutmeg without making sweet soup
Fresh produceSayur & bahan segar
25 g
fresh ginger
jahe segar
clean warmth in the long oxtail simmer
150 g
brown onion
bawang bombai
sweet restaurant-style aromatic base
20 g
garlic
bawang putih
savoury backbone sautéed before it enters the broth
350 g
waxy potatoes
kentang yang tidak mudah hancur
starchy vegetable that should remain in clean-edged chunks
250 g
carrots
wortel
sweet vegetable contrast added after the potato
150 g
ripe tomatoes
tomat matang
fresh acidity and colour added for only the final minutes
ChilledDingin
15 g
unsalted butter
mentega tawar
familiar Jakarta hotel-style aroma for the sautéed alliums
SpicesRempah
4 cloves + 3 cm cinnamon
cloves and cinnamon
cengkeh dan kayu manis
restrained warm spice behind the beef
Watch: Do not add extra star anise or cardamom automatically; too much whole spice makes the broth medicinal.
4 g
black peppercorns
merica hitam butiran
coarse pepper warmth without chilli heat
1 g
fresh nutmeg
pala segar
signature aromatic finish added only near the end
Watch: Measure it; more nutmeg does not make a better soup.
GarnishPelengkap
55 g
spring onion and celery leaves
daun bawang dan daun seledri
fresh green lift at the end of the soup
25 g
fried shallots
bawang goreng
crisp savoury finish added at the table
6 servings
lime, sambal, kecap manis, and emping
jeruk limau, sambal, kecap manis, dan emping
lets each diner control acid, chilli, sweetness, and crunch
Watch: Check kecap and crackers for soy, wheat, and shared-fryer allergens.
02 · Method
Cook in order. Read the decisive cue.
7 stages · 3 hr 45 min total
Stage 01
Blanch and clean the oxtail
Trim only thick exterior fat. Bring 3 L water to a full boil, add oxtail, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse coagulated scum from the meat with warm water, and wash the pot before the real stock begins.
- Move on when
- The drained pieces look clean between the bones and the pot has no grey foam stuck to it.
- Common mistake
- Skipping the clean pot carries the first blanch's scum into the finished broth.
- Recovery
- Pause before the next step, compare the cue, then correct heat, moisture, or seasoning while the dish is still flexible.
Stage 02
Start a clear bare-simmer stock
Return oxtail with 2.5 L fresh water and bruised ginger. Bring up slowly, then hold at 88-95°C: small bubbles at the edge with only an occasional centre bubble. Skim beige foam and thick fat during the first 15 minutes; partly cover and top up only with boiling water if meat becomes exposed.
- Move on when
- Pale clear stock quivers quietly around clean oxtail pieces; there is no rolling turbulence.
- Common mistake
- Hard boiling emulsifies fat and protein into a cloudy, greasy broth.
- Recovery
- Lower the heat immediately, skim or stir gently, and continue at a small simmer until the surface calms.
Stage 03
Sauté restrained soup spices
Melt butter over medium-low. Cook onion 7-9 minutes until translucent and lightly gold. Add garlic, cloves, cinnamon, and crushed pepper for 60-90 seconds, just until fragrant, then scrape everything including the butter into the stock.
- Move on when
- Sweet onion and warm pepper smell lead; garlic and whole spices are fragrant but not browned.
- Common mistake
- Dark garlic or extra handfuls of spice make the clear soup bitter or medicinal.
- Recovery
- Move the pan off heat, scrape only the unburnt paste into a clean spot, add a small splash of oil or liquid, and restart gently.
Stage 04
Cook until spoon-tender
Continue the bare simmer, testing after about 2½ hours total cooking. A skewer should enter with little resistance and a spoon should cut the meat, while it still remains attached enough to lift. Timing varies with tail section and animal age.
- Move on when
- Gelatin glistens at the joint and meat pulls slightly from bone without collapsing.
- Common mistake
- Stopping because the timer rang leaves chewy collagen; boiling harder does not make it tender faster.
- Recovery
- Lower the heat immediately, skim or stir gently, and continue at a small simmer until the surface calms.
Stage 05
Strain, de-fat, and standardise
Lift oxtail carefully. Strain broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot and skim surface fat. Measure and top up with hot water to 1.8 L so seasoning and vegetable timing stay repeatable. For the clearest result, chill overnight and lift off solid fat before continuing.
- Move on when
- The measured broth is clear amber with only tiny separate fat droplets.
- Common mistake
- Seasoning an unknown reduced volume is how a long soup becomes unexpectedly salty.
- Recovery
- Pause before the next step, compare the cue, then correct heat, moisture, or seasoning while the dish is still flexible.
Stage 06
Cook vegetables in order
Bring the broth to a gentle boil. Add 3 cm potato chunks for 8 minutes, then carrots and oxtail for another 7-10 minutes. Add salt, sugar, optional MSG, and freshly grated nutmeg only when the vegetables are nearly tender. Taste after 2 minutes.
- Move on when
- A knife enters potato and carrot centres, but every piece keeps a clean edge; beef remains the dominant aroma.
- Common mistake
- Adding vegetables with raw oxtail turns them to mush hours before the meat softens.
- Recovery
- Pause before the next step, compare the cue, then correct heat, moisture, or seasoning while the dish is still flexible.
Stage 07
Finish fresh and serve separately
Add tomato wedges, spring onion, and celery leaves for only 1-2 minutes. Divide oxtail and vegetables, ladle over piping-hot broth, and top with fried shallot. Put rice, lime, sambal rawit, kecap manis, and emping on the table rather than muddying the whole pot.
- Move on when
- Clear amber broth frames intact vegetables, bright green herbs, and tender oxtail.
- Common mistake
- Boiling tomato and herbs until dull removes the fresh contrast that lifts the rich stock.
- Recovery
- Lower the heat immediately, skim or stir gently, and continue at a small simmer until the surface calms.
03 · Source & shop
Where the guidance comes from.
Technique guidance is stable editorial material. Prices, stock, and local availability should be rechecked before a special trip.Melbourne
- Best source: use an Indonesian or broader Asian grocer for meaty beef oxtail pieces, fresh ginger, brown onion; buy meaty beef oxtail pieces, fresh water, unsalted butter from a supermarket or butcher if quality is better there.
- Hard-to-find watch: ask for the Bahasa names (buntut sapi berdaging, jahe segar, bawang bombai) and keep meaty beef oxtail pieces close to the recipe because it changes the identity of Sop Buntut.
- Acceptable swaps: meaty beef oxtail pieces: meaty beef short ribs or bone-in shank, though the dish is no longer strictly sop buntut; unsalted butter: neutral oil for a dairy-free soup.
- Do not swap lightly: meaty beef oxtail pieces, cloves and cinnamon carries the dish cue and should stay close to the recipe.
- Fresh vs packaged: buy fresh ginger, brown onion, garlic fresh or frozen from grocers; packaged fresh water, cloves and cinnamon, black peppercorns is fine when labels are clean and dates are current.
Jakarta
- Best source: pasar stalls are the first stop for buntut sapi berdaging, jahe segar, bawang bombai; use supermarkets for sealed pantry items, coconut products, noodles, and sauces.
- Hard-to-find watch: check freshness and supplier trust for buntut sapi berdaging, jahe segar, bawang bombai, especially when the ingredient defines the dish.
- Acceptable swaps: meaty beef oxtail pieces: meaty beef short ribs or bone-in shank, though the dish is no longer strictly sop buntut; unsalted butter: neutral oil for a dairy-free soup.
- Do not swap lightly: meaty beef oxtail pieces, cloves and cinnamon carries the Jakarta cue for Sop Buntut; change it only after you understand the visual stage.
- Fresh vs packaged: buy herbs and aromatics fresh when possible, but packaged pantry staples are fine if the aroma is clean and the date is current.
Editorial provenance
detikFood - Sop Buntut Sapi Bening ala Restoran
Cross-checks a clear restaurant-style broth, an initial blanch, a low simmer, late vegetables, and measured clove, pepper, and nutmeg.
Supports: clear oxtail broth, blanch then low-simmer sequence, potato, carrot, clove, pepper, and nutmeg.
Boundary: This editorial recipe is one restaurant-style expression, not proof of a single canonical national formula; Bumbu Lens separates its timing and doneness cues for beginners.
Reviewed 2026-07-10PT Jakarta International Hotels & Development - Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe
Uses the operator's first-party account to establish Hotel Borobudur Jakarta's more-than-50-year relationship with its restaurant-style sop buntut.
Supports: Hotel Borobudur venue history, long-running Jakarta restaurant context, contemporary service lineage.
Boundary: This is a corporate account of its own signature dish, useful for venue provenance but not an independent history of all Indonesian sop buntut.
Reviewed 2026-07-10NOW! Jakarta - Indonesia on a Plate: Iconic Dishes
Cross-checks the documented 1974 Bogor Cafe service story and the restaurant's use of nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and black peppercorn in its oxtail soup.
Supports: 1974 Jakarta hotel context, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and pepper profile, restaurant-style identity.
Boundary: The venue story is not an origin claim for oxtail soup itself, and a reported spice list does not disclose the hotel's full recipe or quantities.
Reviewed 2026-07-10Royco Indonesia - Sop Buntut
Cross-checks a three-hour home-cook route, pre-tenderised oxtail, separately bloomed aromatics, cinnamon and nutmeg, and late potato and carrot.
Supports: long tenderising stage, bloomed warm spices, late vegetable timing.
Boundary: This branded recipe uses a commercial beef seasoning and a different assembly order; Bumbu Lens does not treat it as a canonical formula.
Reviewed 2026-07-10FoodSafety.gov - Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures
Provides the whole-cut beef safety floor of 63°C / 145°F with a three-minute rest; sop buntut must cook substantially longer than that floor to dissolve collagen and become spoon-tender.
Supports: whole-cut beef safety floor, thermometer use, safety versus tenderness distinction.
Boundary: Reaching the minimum temperature does not make oxtail tender. The recipe's low braise continues until collagen softens and meat yields without falling apart.
Reviewed 2026-07-10Food Standards Australia New Zealand - Food safety basics
Applies Australian guidance to make-ahead broth: refrigerate at 5°C or colder, cool quickly in shallow containers, keep hot food above 60°C, and follow the two-hour/four-hour rule.
Supports: rapid cooling, 5°C refrigeration, two-hour/four-hour rule.
Boundary: A large stockpot cools too slowly in a domestic refrigerator; divide broth and oxtail into shallow containers rather than treating an overnight pot as automatically safe.
Reviewed 2026-07-10Bumbu Lens generated visual cue reference
Recorded as a local editorial or generated visual cue asset, not an independent external source.
Supports: finished-dish appearance, image credit boundary.
Boundary: A local or generated asset is visual guidance, not evidence of authenticity, ingredient quantities, timing, safety, or method accuracy.
Reviewed 2026-07-10Bumbu Lens editorial method audit
Reviewed Sop Buntut as an ordered cook flow with visual cues, common mistakes, and recovery notes.
Supports: method sequence, visual checkpoints, mistake and recovery notes.
Boundary: Use this as editorial guidance; run a tested-kitchen pass before publishing nutrition, safety guarantees, or commercial pack quantities.
Reviewed 2026-07-10Bumbu Lens Melbourne/Jakarta sourcing heuristic
Mapped ingredient groups to likely Melbourne grocer, supermarket, butcher, pasar, and Jakarta supermarket paths.
Supports: Melbourne sourcing, Jakarta sourcing, volatile availability boundary.
Boundary: Ingredient availability, price, and store stock change; verify with local grocers before travel, bulk shopping, or holiday cooking.
Reviewed 2026-07-10Your next cook
Kitchen notes
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