Bubur Kacang Hijau, Indonesian Mung Bean Porridge
Bubur kacang hijau is a sweet mung bean porridge eaten for breakfast or as a warm afternoon snack across Indonesia, usually built on coconut milk and palm sugar and scented with pandan and ginger. Keeping the pandan and ginger and swapping in soy milk and dates leaves the character intact: green and grassy from the pandan, warm from the ginger, creamy and sweet, but without the coconut, sugar, or salt. A knot of pandan does a surprising amount of work, so seek it out frozen if you can.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Mung beans, soaked 4 hours or overnight, drained
- 1 tbsp Ginger, sliced into coins
- 1 Pandan leaf, tied into a knot
- 5 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 cup Unsweetened soy milk
- 2 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted
Method
- Soaking the mung beans for a few hours first cuts the cooking time roughly in half and helps them break down into a porridge rather than staying separate. Drain them and put them in a pot with the ginger coins, the knotted pandan leaf, and 4 cups (950 ml) water.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then and topping up with a little hot water if it gets too thick, until the beans are completely soft and many have burst. That bursting is what thickens the porridge, so cook them past the point of merely tender.
- While the beans cook, blend the pitted dates with 0.5 cup (120 ml) hot water until smooth. This date paste is the sweetener, standing in for the palm sugar the dish traditionally leans on, and it dissolves cleanly into the hot porridge.
- Fish out and discard the pandan knot and the ginger coins. Stir in the date paste and the soy milk. The soy milk gives the creaminess coconut milk usually provides, with protein instead of saturated fat. Warm through for 2 minutes but do not boil hard, or the soy milk can turn grainy.
- Taste and add a little more date paste if you like it sweeter. Ladle into bowls, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until fragrant if you have not already, and scatter them over the top. Serve warm. It thickens as it sits, so loosen leftovers with a splash of water or soy milk when you reheat them.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 250 calories, 13 g protein, 9 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
