Bubur Ayam

- Indonesian Chicken Rice Porridge -

There are many variants of rice porridge across Asia - it seems every country has one or two of their own. This is the Indonesian chicken porridge recipe. It is delicious, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is especially good if you are sick. 

To make it authentic, you should use the broth for Soto Ayam, or Indonesian Chicken Soup, so this recipe is best made after you've made Soto Ayam and have leftover shredded chicken and chicken broth. If you just use packaged chicken or other chicken broth, it might still be chicken porridge, but it won't be very Indonesian. On the same note, the sambal you use in this recipe should also be the sambal used for Soto Ayam (linked recipe). So just be aware that if you want to make this, you might as well just make Soto Ayam beforehand, and then you have two delicious Indonesian meals to eat that same week. 

- Bubur Ayam -

Ingredients for the porridge itself:

• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• 8 cups water
• 4 cubes chicken boullion

Toppings:

• Broth from Soto Ayam (Linked Recipe)
• Fried, shredded chicken from Soto Ayam (Linked Recipe)
• Kerupuk (shrimp crackers)
• Fresh spring onions, roughly chopped
• Deep Fried sliced Shallots (bawang goreng), optional
• Deep fried or roasted peanuts (kacang goreng)
• Kecap Manis (Indonesian sweet soya sauce)
• Sambal for Soto Ayam (Linked Recipe)

Directions for the porridge:

1. Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear
2. Drain
3. Put the rice in a large saucepan and stir in the salt and oil. Add the water and chicken boullion cubes
4. Bring to the boil and stir the rice to loosen the grains from the bottom of the pan
5. Set the cover ajar and boil gently for 5 minutes.
6. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is soft and is the consistency of porridge, about 1 1/2 hours. Keep warm while you prepare the toppings.

To Assemble:

1. Heat the broth and chicken from the Soto Ayam
2. Spoon some porridge into a bowl
3. Ladle some Soto Ayam broth onto the porridge, and top with sprinklings of shredded chicken, a few shrimp crackers, some chopped spring onions, fried shallots, and deep fried or roasted peanuts. Finish off with a swirl of sweet soya sauce and a spoonful of sambal.

Enjoy!