Bubur Ketan Hitam | Indonesian Sweet Black Glutinous Rice Porridge

This is one of my favorite porridges – the fragrant and sweet Bubur Ketan Hitam. The Indonesian sweet black rice porridge goes also by other names and variations across Southeast Asia where it’s a popular breakfast and dessert.

Years ago, I came across bubur ketan hitam in Australia. Or maybe it was bubur pulut hitam because we were in a Malaysian restaurant. However, we were having dinner with a friend in Sydney, and he suggested that I take black rice pudding for dessert. It was like nothing I had tasted before and I got hooked. On our next trip to Indonesia, I made sure to have this treat again and again. And since then, I’ve also cooked this porridge at home.

Somehow, springtime is the season I cook this porridge the most often. The mangoes are in the season followed by delicious pineapples during Easter. According to my tastebuds, these two fruits have the right amount of juiciness and acidic notes to compliment the flavors of black glutinous rice and coconut cream.

Health benefits of black glutinous rice

I’m a porridge person and it’s almost like it’s in my genes. In the Nordics, the porridge culture and breakfast have deep roots. I can’t escape my habits and porridge is my everyday breakfast of choice, often times also a healthy snack when I feel peckish in the afternoon.

However, there’s no point in being stuck with one or two grains all of the time. Black glutinous rice is a great addition to the porridge rotation for a multitude of reasons and it is often recommended for heart disease and anti-inflammatory aware diets.

Black glutinous rice

• is nutrition and fiber-rich wholegrain having more protein in comparison to white rice but less than black rice
• has a chewy texture and nutty fragrant aroma, it takes over your kitchen while porridge simmers
• changes in color to a deep purple color when cooked thanks to anthocyanins & antioxidant rich consistency

Making this porridge is easy. You soak the rice overnight and slowly cook it the next morning. Serve it with seasoned coconut milk and sliced the fruits if you wish. The next time you’ll visit an Asian store, get yourself a bag of black glutinous rice, pandan leaves from the freezer section, and palm sugar. Now you’re ready to make some delicious and sticky purple porridge. :)

Bubur Ketan Hitam | Recipe

The recipe below yields 4-6 portions depending on whether you serve this as a properly sized breakfast meal or as a dessert. Not all black rice is sticky in nature so be sure to use black glutinous rice or black sticky Thai rice. The pandan leaves give a vanilla-like flavor and you don’t want to miss out on that.

Bubur Ketan Hitam |

Print recipe

Makes/Serves: 4-6 people Prep Time: 8 hours Cooking time: 1 hour 1 hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

INGREDIENTS

 

• 1 liter of water
• 1-1,5 pandan leaves washed and tied into a knot
• 200ml / 140g black glutinous rice
• 3 tbsp unrefined palm sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar
• 0,5 tsp of salt

 

• 200ml coconut milk or cream
• pinch of salt
• fresh juicy fruits

METHOD

1. Gently wash the black glutinous rice twice and transfer it to a medium-sized bowl to soak overnight. Leave with enough cold water so that it comes to one inch over the top of the rice.
2. In a medium-sized kettle, bring water to boil and add the pandan leaf knot. Drain the rice, add it to the boiling water, and stir. Reduce heat to low and let the rice simmer and bubble for 45-50 minutes. Give the porridge a stir from time to time to make sure the rice doesn't stick and burn to the bottom.
3. Remove the pandan leaf knot. Dissolve sugar with the porridge liquid in a separate small bowl. Add the syrup into the porridge as well as salt. Continue to cook for 10 more minutes until the porridge is soft and thick. Check the salt.
4. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut milk and season with salt to taste. Set aside.
5. Serve the porridge warm or cold with coconut milk & fresh fruits.

NOTES

Once cooled, store black rice porridge in the fridge.

Did you make this recipe?

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To me, pandan leaves are a must as well as strong flavorful sugar. Some also season the coconut milk with a pandan leaf but I want to keep it separate. However, don’t forget to season the coconut milk with salt as it accentuates the flavor to the maximum.

There are so many variations with this porridge. One great summer version I came across was to serve black glutinous rice with crushed ice and ice cream along with fruits. I can already imagine how amazing this would be during hot summer days!

Want to explore more breakfast ideas and porridge recipes?

Why not try this rye flour based lingonberry porridge ?