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How to cook Sup kambing (mutton soup)

Sup kambing is a peppery, spice-scented mutton soup in the Malay-Indian hawker tradition, with tender chunks of meat and bone in a clear, aromatic broth. It is served with a spoonful of fried shallots, fresh herbs, a chilli-lime dip and bread or rice.

Ingredients

For the mutton and broth

• 800 g mutton shoulder or leg, bone-in pieces, cut into 4-5 cm chunks
• 400 g mutton ribs or soup bones (optional but good for body)
• 2.5 litres water
• 1 tbsp plain flour or rice flour (for scrubbing the meat; optional)
• 1.5 tsp salt, plus more to taste

For the spice paste

• 6 shallots, peeled
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 cm piece ginger, peeled
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp white peppercorns

For frying and simmering

• 3 tbsp cooking oil or ghee
• 2 cinnamon sticks (about 5 cm each)
• 4 cloves
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 2 star anise
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (optional, for colour and depth)
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut into big chunks (optional)

To serve

• 3 tbsp store-bought fried shallots
• 1 small bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 small bunch Chinese celery or celery leaves, chopped (optional)
• 8-10 red chillies, sliced
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce, for the chilli dip
• 2 limes or calamansi, halved
• 4 portions steamed rice, or 8 slices of bread or buns

Steps

1. Clean the mutton5 min
   Put the mutton and bones in a large bowl, sprinkle over the flour and rub it in for about a minute, then rinse well under cold running water. This helps remove surface scum and gamey smell.
2. Blanch the meat10 min
   Place the meat in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes until grey scum rises, then drain and rinse the meat under running water. Wash the pot too.
3. Dry-toast the whole spices4 min
   In a dry pan over medium-low heat, toast the coriander, cumin, fennel, black and white peppercorns for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan, until fragrant and a shade darker. Do not let them smoke. Cool for a few minutes.
4. Make the spice paste5 min
   Grind the toasted spices to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or mortar. Blend the shallots, garlic and ginger with 3 tbsp of water into a smooth paste, then stir in the ground spices.
5. Fry the aromatics10 min
   Heat the oil in the clean pot over medium heat. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and star anise and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the spice paste and fry for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the raw smell is gone and the oil starts to separate from the paste.
6. Add the onion and tomato3 min
   Stir in the quartered onion and tomatoes (and tomato paste if using) and fry for 3 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften.
7. Coat the meat4 min
   Add the blanched mutton and bones and stir over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes so the meat is coated in the paste and lightly sizzling.
8. Add water and bring to a boil8 min
   Pour in the 2.5 litres of water, add the lemongrass and 1.5 tsp salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any foam that rises.
9. Simmer until tender1 hr 45 min
   Reduce to low so the surface barely bubbles, partly cover, and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. The meat is done when a piece can be pulled from the bone with little resistance and a fork slides in easily. Top up with hot water if the level drops below the meat.
10. Add the potato25 min
    If using potato, add the chunks during the last 25 minutes and simmer until a knife slides in easily but the pieces still hold their shape.
11. Season the soup3 min
    Taste the broth and adjust with salt. It should be noticeably peppery, savoury and warmly spiced. Skim off excess oil from the surface if you prefer a lighter soup. Remove the lemongrass and any large whole spices if you can find them.
12. Make the chilli dip3 min
    Combine the sliced chillies with the light soy sauce and squeeze in the juice of half a lime or calamansi. Divide into small dipping saucers.
13. Serve
    Ladle the mutton, bones and broth into deep bowls. Top with fried shallots, coriander, spring onions and Chinese celery. Serve hot with rice or bread, the chilli dip and lime wedges on the side.

Tips

• Bone-in cuts give the richest broth; ask the butcher to chop the bones into pieces that fit your pot.
• Toasting and grinding the spices fresh gives a far more fragrant soup than pre-ground powder.
• Keep the simmer gentle; a hard boil makes the broth cloudy and the meat stringy.
• Cool the soup completely and chill it overnight, then lift off the set fat for a cleaner-tasting broth; flavour deepens by the next day.
• If you like it hotter, add a few whole green chillies to the pot in the last 20 minutes.

Food safety and allergens

Mutton should be cooked until very tender, well past 71 C internally, which the long simmer easily achieves. Cool leftovers within 2 hours, refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days, and reheat until steaming hot throughout.

Contains: soy, wheat

Watch it being made

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• How to make Singapore Mutton Soup (Soup Kambing)CarmenChanCooks · 183,582 views · YouTube
• SUP KAMBING MAMAK PEKAT (2020) - Ala SingapuraNasser's Kitchen · 108,348 views · YouTube

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