Indonesian Bubur Ayam

Making Indonesian Bubur Ayam Ahead

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. It thickens; add water when reheating.

Making Indonesian Bubur Ayam

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1. Put the rice, stock, bay leaves, lemongrass, ginger and chicken in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring often, for 45 minutes until the rice is broken down and thick. Lift out the chicken, shred and discard the bones.

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2. Season the porridge with the salt.

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3. Blend the shallots, garlic, turmeric and candlenuts. Fry in the oil for 5 minutes. Add 200 ml of the stock and simmer for 5 minutes.

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4. Ladle the porridge into 4 bowls. Top with the chicken, spoon over the yellow gravy and scatter with the fried shallots, spring onions and celery.

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5. Serve with the sweet soy sauce and sambal.

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Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Worth Knowing

• Stir the porridge often.
• Add boiled egg or crackers for a fuller bowl.
• Do not stir the bowl before you eat; eat from the side.

Why the Method Is What It Is

The bowl is assembled from many parts, and the pleasure is in the mix. Bubur ayam is an Indonesian breakfast of smooth rice porridge, sold from a cart that arrives before work and sells out by nine. The chicken is shredded, the broth is yellow, and the toppings are strewn over the top: crisp crullers, fried shallots, celery leaf, spring onion, a spoonful of sambal.

The porridge is rice cooked until it breaks down. Rinse 200 g of rice, add 1.5 litres of chicken stock, a bay leaf, a lemongrass stalk and a piece of ginger, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often. It should reach the consistency of thick custard. Stir the bottom of the pot often. The starch settles and catches.

The chicken is poached whole in the same stock for 30 minutes, then shredded. The yellow gravy is made by frying a paste of shallot, garlic, turmeric and candlenuts, then thinning it with the stock.

To assemble: a ladleful of porridge in a bowl, a handful of chicken on top, a spoonful of yellow sauce, and the toppings. Add sweet soy sauce and sambal at the table. Do not stir it until you are ready to eat.

Good Alongside

Prawn crackers · Fried soybeans · Boiled egg · Iced tea

Swaps and Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high. How the figures are worked out.

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