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Bubur Ayam (Chicken Rice Congee or Chicken Rice Porridge)

Posting Date: 06/03/16

Bubur Ayam (Chicken Rice Congee or Chicken Rice Porridge) is considered as breakfast in Indonesia. It originated from China. If you have been in dim sum restaurants before, Bubur Ayam is similar to rice congee or rice porridge you find there. It is made of rice that is boiled in water for a long period of time (40 min or more depending on whether you start from cooked rice or uncooked rice). Because it is cooked in a long period, the rice disintegrates and becomes very soft. Because of that, it is sometimes used to feed the sick since it is easy to digest. When I was sick, my mom used to make it plain without any other fixings (Chinese doughnout, parsley, pepper, salt, chicken, etc.).

In Indonesia, street vendors sell Bubur Ayam in the morning for breakfast. It is normally served with shredded cooked chicken, parsley, Chinese long doughnut, and fried onion. The vendor may drizzle the top with soy sauce and serve it with peanut chili sauce on the side.

This dish is a good way to use up any leftover rice. However, you can also use uncooked rice. Just add enough water to cook rice plus the water needed to make porridge if you start with uncooked rice.

This dish is very versatile in term of the texture. You can adjust the texture by using more or less water. If you want it a little runny, you can add more water. If you want it thicker, you use less water. I tend to like it less runny and thus, I add just enough water to make the rice disintegrate. You can also adjust the texture by using different time. For the same amount of water, if you cook it longer, you will end up with thicker congee. If you cook it shorter, your congee will be runnier. However, you have to make sure you cook it in enough time or otherwise, your rice would not disintegrate and would look more like soft rice but you can add more water during cooking if needed and thus, this recipe is really forgiving.

You can cook bubur ayam in a rice cooker or in a pot. If you use a pot, make sure you use non-stick pot for easy clean up since the rice becomes sticky. Some rice cookers have congee setting and thus, it will cook it for the time you set. Mine has it, too and it makes it very convenient. However, if you don't have it, don't worry. You can still cook it in your regular rice cooker or a pot.

This recipe serves for 4 people.

Ingredients:

3 cups of cooked rice or 1 cup of uncooked rice
4 cups of water if using cooked rice or 6 cups of water if using uncooked rice. You can also add more water during cooking if you prefer it runny.
2 bay leaves
3 teaspoons chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar or to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 Chinese Long Doughnut or Chinese Doughnut, prepared in oven according to the package directions and sliced once done
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
fried onion, to taste
Optional: soy sauce, to taste

Methods:

If using uncooked rice, rinse the rice and drain it. Repeat it until the water becomes clear.
If using rice cooker, add rice, water, bay leaves, and chicken bouillon to the rice cooker and stir to mix the bouillon. If your rice cooker has congee setting, set the timer to 90 min and press start. Please note that cooking time may vary depending on your rice cooker, the final texture/consistency you prefer, and whether you start from cooked or uncooked rice. If your rice cooker has no congee setting, start the rice cooker. If using a pot, make sure non-stick pot is used, add rice, water, bay leaves, and chicken bouillon to the pot, stir the pot to mix the bouillon, put the lid, and turn on the stove to medium low.
From time to time (every 7-10 min), stir the rice in the rice cooker or the pot. Once the rice has become soft (about 20 min if you start from cooked rice), add the beaten eggs slowly and stir it in 1 direction only. Add salt and sugar and stir it again. If using a pot and once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cook the rice until the rice disintegrates and reaches the texture/consistency you want. I prefer mine to be thick and it takes about 40 min if using cooked rice. If you prefer it runny, cook it longer and add a little bit more water if needed. Once it reaches the texture/consistency you like, add pepper and stir it again. If needed, add more salt and sugar and stir it. Turn off rice cooker or stove.
Remove bay leaves and split the porridge into 4 bowls. Top each bowl with shredded cooked chicken, sliced Chinese long doughnut, parsley, and fried onion. Drizzle with a little bit of soy sauce if preferred. Make sure you don't drizzle too much since it will make it salty.

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