Bubur Pulut Hitam, Indonesian Black Rice Pudding
Bubur pulut hitam is the black rice porridge eaten for dessert or a sweet breakfast across Indonesia and Malaysia, usually pooled with salted coconut cream at the table. It is properly made with black glutinous rice, and whole black rice, the kind sold as forbidden rice, makes an excellent coconut-free version that keeps all of its bran, its fiber, and its dramatic purple color. Dates carry the sweetness that palm sugar usually would, and a swirl of soy milk stands in for the coconut. Cook it low and slow, and let the rice do the thickening itself.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black rice, rinsed
- 2 Pandan leafs, knotted
- 4 Medjool dates, pitted and blended with water into a paste
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted
Method
- Put the rinsed black rice and the pandan knot in a pot with 5 cups (1.2 L) water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring now and then, for 45 to 55 minutes, until the grains burst open and the liquid thickens to a loose porridge. The long cook is what matters: it breaks the starch out of the grains so the pudding thickens on its own, no coconut milk needed for body.
- Stir in the date paste and cook another 5 minutes. Adjust with hot water until it is spoonable but still loose, since it firms up as it cools.
- Pull out the pandan leaf, which has by now given up its grassy vanilla scent to the pot.
- Serve warm in bowls with a swirl of soy milk and a pinch of sesame. The soy milk is the cool, rich streak that a spoonful of coconut cream would traditionally add.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 200 calories, 6 g protein, 6 g fiber, 30 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.
