Name: Bubur Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Rice Porridge)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: ¾ cup Jasmine Rice, rinsed; 250 g Chicken Thigh, bone-in preferred; 4 cup Chicken Stock, or water with chicken bones; 2 Egg, boiled and halved; 3 clove Garlic, minced; 2 Shallots, thinly sliced; 1 Indonesian Bay Leaves, daun salam; 1 tsp Soy Sauce, for chicken seasoning; 1 tbsp Sweet Soy Sauce, for serving; ½ cup Bean Sprouts, rinsed; ¼ cup Spring Onion Greens, sliced; 2 tbsp Fried Shallots, for garnish; 1 tbsp Cooking Oil, for frying aromatics; ¾ tsp Salt, adjust to taste

Bubur Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Rice Porridge)

1 hr 10 mintotal

Prep 15 min · Cook 55 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild

Add to your week

Method

Heat the measured cooking oil in a heavy pot. Fry the shallots and garlic until fragrant.
Add the chicken, soy sauce, Indonesian bay leaf, and chicken stock. Simmer until the chicken is cooked and tender.
Remove the chicken, shred it when cool enough to handle, and keep it aside.
Add the rinsed rice to the broth and simmer, stirring often, until the grains break down into a soft porridge.
Adjust salt and loosen with a little hot water if the porridge becomes too thick.
Serve the porridge topped with shredded chicken, boiled eggs, bean sprouts, spring onion greens, fried shallots, and sweet soy sauce.

How to tell it's done

The porridge should be soft, spoonable, and creamy from broken rice grains, not dry or separate.

Getting it right

Tip

Stir the porridge often near the end so the rice breaks down evenly without catching at the bottom.

What to serve it with

Serve warm for breakfast or a light dinner with extra fried shallots and chilli sauce.

Common mistakes

The porridge catches at the bottom or becomes too thick.: Stir regularly once the rice swells and loosen with hot water or stock until spoonable.

Substitutions

Use cooked leftover rice for a quicker porridge, but simmer long enough for it to soften properly.
Use boneless chicken if preferred, but bone-in chicken gives better broth flavor.
Omit the boiled egg for an egg-free version and check the remaining packaged ingredients for egg.
Check soy sauce and sweet soy sauce labels for wheat content.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate porridge and toppings separately for up to 3 days. Reheat with extra stock or water; freezing is not ideal for the rice texture.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)

Nasi goreng is Indonesian fried rice with cold rice, kecap manis, shrimp paste, chicken, vegetables, and a fried egg on top.

30 minnon vegetarian

Nasi Uduk (Indonesian Coconut Rice)

Nasi uduk cooks jasmine rice with coconut milk, lemongrass, pandan, daun salam, and fried shallots for fragrant Indonesian coconut rice.

45 minvegan

Rawon (Javanese Black Beef Soup)

Rawon is a Javanese black beef soup with keluak, beef chuck, galangal, lemongrass, daun salam, tamarind, palm sugar, and bean sprouts.

1 hr 55 minnon vegetarian

Sop Buntut (Indonesian Oxtail Soup)

Sop buntut is Indonesian oxtail soup with tender oxtail, clear broth, potato, carrot, celery, tomato, nutmeg, cloves, and fried shallots.

2 hr 20 minnon vegetarian

Soto Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Turmeric Soup)

Soto ayam is Indonesian turmeric chicken soup with golden broth, rice vermicelli, shredded chicken, egg, bean sprouts, cabbage, herbs, and lemon.

1 hr 5 minnon vegetarian

Bakso (Indonesian Meatball Noodle Soup)

Bakso is an Indonesian meatball noodle soup with bouncy beef meatballs, egg noodles, clear broth, bean sprouts, cabbage, fried shallots, and sweet soy.

40 minnon vegetarian

Ingredients