Indonesia

Bubur Ayam: Indonesia's Javanese Chicken Rice Porridge

How to make bubur ayam, Indonesian chicken congee, at home: porridge cooked from raw rice, a yellow turmeric chicken broth, fried shallots, sambal and kecap manis. Cianjur-style serving, substitutes, common failures and storage.

This recipe was translated from the Japanese original by the Sekai Gohan editorial team. Read the original (Japanese)

  • Prep25 min
  • Cook55 min
  • Total1 hr 20 min
  • Serves4 servings
  • LevelBeginner

Indonesian bubur ayam topped with chicken, fried shallots, scallions and krupuk

A morning kitchen, and yellow broth poured over porridge

When the sweet steam of rice rises in the morning, the air in the kitchen softens a little. Pour over it a chicken broth infused with turmeric, lemongrass and ginger from a small pot, and it stops being plain white porridge; it smells like an Indonesian morning. Bubur ayam isn't sickbed food for a weak day. It's a breakfast that makes you stop in front of the street stall.

Bubur ayam is rice cooked into a silky porridge and layered with chicken, yellow chicken broth, fried shallots, scallions, celery leaves, cakwe (fried dough sticks), kerupuk (crackers), sambal and kecap manis. Versions exist all over Indonesia; in Jakarta and West Java it's a morning street-stall food, and in Cianjur it's spoken of as the town's signature breakfast.

The hard part at home is less the number of ingredients than the sequence. Cook porridge from raw rice, make broth in a small pot, fry a spice paste, and top it all at the end. Thinking of all four at once looks hectic, but taken one at a time, they're calm work even on a home stove.

Another Indonesian breakfast is the coconut rice nasi uduk (in Japanese). If nasi uduk cooks aroma into the rice, bubur ayam layers yellow broth and toppings onto white porridge. Both are morning foods, but they build texture and aroma in very different ways.

About the name

In Indonesian, bubur means porridge and ayam means chicken. In English it's often called Indonesian chicken congee or chicken rice porridge; this article uses the Indonesian name, bubur ayam.

Cianjur-style and street-stall bubur ayam

Bubur ayam served street-stall style with small dishes of sambal, kecap manis and krupuk
Bubur ayam is eaten by adding broth, aromatic oil, fried things and heat little by little, not just rice porridge

Indonesia Travel, the government tourism site, introduces Bubur Ayam Cianjur as a breakfast known for its "soft texture and savory taste," and explains that shredded chicken, cakwe, fried shallots, kerupuk, kecap manis and sambal give it its character. Around Cianjur, some stalls pour yellow chicken broth over separately, while others let the broth soak into the porridge itself.

The English Wikipedia describes bubur ayam as influenced by Chinese chicken congee but made Indonesian through local ingredients and toppings. That's what makes it interesting. Porridge as a framework exists across East and Southeast Asia, but Indonesian bubur ayam becomes a dish of layering flavors from the first thing in the morning: fried shallots, sweet soy sauce, sambal and crackers.

Point to look at Typical form around Cianjur To recreate at home
Porridge Smooth, soft white porridge Rice cooked gently in water and chicken broth
Broth Yellow chicken broth, or savoriness soaked into the porridge Use turmeric, lemongrass and ginger
Toppings Shredded chicken, cakwe, fried shallots, kerupuk Chicken breast or thigh, youtiao-style bread, store-bought shrimp crackers
Adjusting at the table Kecap manis, sambal, pepper Add sweetness and heat from separate dishes

At home, it's easier not to try too hard to copy a famous Cianjur stall. What to protect is a porridge with the grains slightly broken down, a chicken broth that isn't too cloudy, the yellow aromatics, and a finish of fried things and heat for texture. Getting these four right brings you closer to an Indonesian breakfast than piling on lavish toppings.

There's also a small fork in how it's eaten. At stalls, some people stir the porridge and toppings together thoroughly from the start, while others save the fried shallots and crackers until the end. At home, pour the yellow broth over the whole bowl and put only the sambal and kecap manis at the edge; then you get porridge and chicken broth for the first few spoonfuls, heat and sweetness partway through, and the texture of softened fried things at the end.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Ingredients for bubur ayam: rice, chicken, turmeric, lemongrass, aromatics, sambal and krupuk
Preparing the porridge, yellow chicken broth, spice paste and toppings separately makes the method easier

Porridge

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Rice 1 rice-cooker cup, about 150 g A Japanese rice cup holds 180 ml. Jasmine rice or Japanese rice both work
Water 900 ml Have another 200 ml hot water ready to add along the way
Chicken broth 300 ml Use the broth made in the step below
Salt 1/2 tsp Adjust for the saltiness of the broth
Vegetable oil 1 tsp Helps keep it from boiling over

Yellow chicken broth and chicken

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Chicken thighs 450 g If using breast, 400 g. Skin-on gives more flavor to the broth
Water 1.2 L For the broth
Lemongrass 1 stalk If dried, 2 tsp
Ginger 20 g Thinly sliced
Bay leaf 1 Daun salam is traditional; if you have it, use 2
Salt 1 tsp For the broth
White pepper 1/4 tsp Black pepper also works

Spice paste

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Onion 80 g Shallots (bawang merah) are traditional. Red onion also works
Garlic 3 cloves, about 15 g Chopped or grated
Ground turmeric 1 tsp If fresh, 15 g
Ground coriander 1 tsp If whole, toast in a dry pan and crush
Macadamia nuts 20 g Candlenuts are traditional. Cashews also work
Vegetable oil 1 1/2 tbsp For frying the spice paste

Toppings

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Fried shallots 5 tbsp Homemade or store-bought
Scallions 3, about 30 g Thinly sliced
Celery leaves 10 g Mix in a little cilantro if you like it
Cakwe or youtiao 1, about 80 g If unavailable, toast fried tofu pouches and slice thinly
Kerupuk or shrimp crackers 12 Avoid with a shrimp allergy
Kecap manis 2 tbsp Substitute 2 tsp soy sauce and 2 tsp dark brown sugar
Sambal 4 tsp Serve separately to keep the heat optional

This dish contains chicken, seasonings with soy, cakwe that may contain wheat, kerupuk that may contain shrimp, and a spice paste that may contain nuts. If anyone has allergies, check the ingredients of the toppings and store-bought seasonings.

Cooking the chicken

Cook the chicken through to the center. As a food-safety guide, confirm that the thickest part reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F), or that clear juices run when you pierce it with a skewer.

Shopping priorities

For bubur ayam, what's worth seeking out online or at an Asian grocer isn't the chicken or rice. The items that are hard to find locally are kecap manis, the sweet soy sauce; sambal, which lets you serve the heat on the side; and fried shallots, which create the finishing aroma in one go. Cakwe and kerupuk are fun if you find them, but the first time, toasted fried tofu and shrimp crackers will do.

Kecap manis isn't a seasoning to pour into the porridge in large amounts. A few drops at the end add a sweet, caramelized note to the yellow chicken broth, and you can also use it in mie goreng (in Japanese) and sate ayam (in Japanese).

Sambal is easier to handle if you don't stir it into everyone's porridge. Put just 1 tsp at the edge of the bowl and people who like it hot and people who don't can eat from the same pot.

You can make fried shallots yourself, but for breakfast, having store-bought ones makes things much easier. Keep them away from moisture until just before topping the porridge so they keep their aroma.

Method: finish the white porridge and yellow broth separately

Cooking porridge and broth all in one pot is easier, but it makes the aromas harder to control. The first time, cook the white porridge in a separate pot and pour the yellow chicken broth over it afterward. Because you can correct the thickness of the rice and the saltiness of the broth separately, mistakes are easy to fix.

  1. Make the chicken broth

    25 min

    Put 450 g chicken thighs, 1.2 L water, the bruised lemongrass, 20 g ginger, 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp salt in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat for about 8 minutes, skimming off the white foam that appears. When it boils, lower to low, set the lid slightly ajar and simmer for 17 minutes. Keep it at a gentle bubble at the sides of the pot, and remove the chicken when the thickest part has turned white and clear juices run when pierced with a skewer.

    Simmering chicken on low heat in a pot with lemongrass and ginger
    Don't boil the broth hard; skim the foam to keep a clear aroma

  2. Cook the rice into porridge

    35 min

    In a separate heavy pot, put 1 cup rinsed rice, 900 ml water, 300 ml of the chicken broth from step 1, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp oil. Warm over medium heat for about 7 minutes, and when it boils, lower to low. Set the lid slightly ajar and cook for 28 minutes, stirring widely from the bottom every 5 minutes so it doesn't scorch. It's ready when about half the grains have broken down and the white porridge slowly flows back when you draw a wooden spoon across the bottom. If it's too thick, add hot water 3 tbsp at a time.

    Cooking rice on low heat in a heavy pot and checking the porridge's thickness with a wooden spoon
    Stopping while some grains remain keeps the porridge from turning heavy when the broth goes on

  3. Grind the spice paste

    8 min

    Cut 80 g onion into 1 cm pieces and halve 3 cloves garlic. Put the onion, garlic, turmeric, coriander, 20 g macadamia nuts and 2 tbsp chicken broth in a mortar or small food processor and process for about 1 minute. No stove is needed for this step. Don't make it a perfectly smooth paste; it's enough when the large pieces of onion are gone and it's a coarse yellow mince. If it's too smooth, its moisture is harder to cook off in the next step.

    Grinding turmeric, onion, garlic and nuts into a coarse yellow paste in a mortar
    Leaving the spice paste slightly coarse helps release its aroma when fried

  4. Make the yellow broth

    10 min

    Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a small pot over medium-low heat and add the spice paste, the lemongrass stalk used for the broth, and the bay leaf. Fry for about 3 minutes; when the oil turns yellow and the raw smell of onion turns sweet, gradually pour in 500 ml of the chicken broth from step 1. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer on low for 5 minutes once it bubbles. Turn off the heat when small drops of yellow oil float on the surface and the saltiness is just right for pouring over porridge.

    Frying yellow spice paste in a small pot before adding the chicken broth
    Fry the spice paste until the oil turns clear yellow, then loosen it with broth

  5. Prepare the chicken and garnishes

    10 min

    Let the chicken cool for 5 minutes, remove the skin, and shred the meat by hand or with a fork into strips about 5 mm wide. Thinly slice the scallions and chop the celery leaves into 5 mm pieces. Cut the cakwe into 1 cm rounds; if you don't have any, toast fried tofu pouches in a toaster oven at 180°C (350°F) for 4 minutes, until lightly colored and crisp, and cut into 1 cm strips. If the chicken looks dry, toss it with 2 tbsp of the yellow broth until the surface is moist again.

    Shredding cooked chicken with a fork and preparing scallions and fried dough
    Shred the chicken finely and keep the garnishes and fried things separate so assembling is easy

  6. Layer the broth and toppings over the porridge

    3 min

    Ladle about 300 g porridge per person into bowls and pour about 80 ml yellow broth over each. No heat is needed, but if the porridge has cooled, warm it first in a 600 W microwave for 1 minute until steaming again. Top with the chicken, scallions, celery leaves, fried shallots, cakwe and kerupuk in that order, and serve 1 tsp kecap manis and 1 tsp sambal on the side. Don't overmix; eating porridge first, then broth, and the fried things last keeps the texture.

    Pouring yellow chicken broth over white porridge and adding chicken and garnishes
    Pour the yellow broth on last, and add the fried shallots and krupuk just before eating
If starting from cooked rice

Put 450 g cold cooked rice, 700 ml water and 300 ml chicken broth in a pot and simmer on low for 20 minutes. The grains hold their shape more than when cooking from raw rice, so press them lightly with a wooden spoon along the way. Adding a lot of water at once dilutes the flavor, so add hot water 3 tbsp at a time.

Decision table: getting close to the original at home

Point to decide Closer to the original Practical at home Direction to avoid
Rice Long-grain rice or rice used for stall porridge Japanese short-grain rice works. Cook gently, watching the moisture Just thinning plain cooked rice with hot water
Broth Chicken, lemongrass, daun salam, turmeric Chicken thighs, bay leaf, ginger, turmeric Adding lots of curry powder and making curry porridge
Toppings Cakwe, kerupuk, fried shallots Fried tofu, shrimp crackers, store-bought fried shallots Leaving out all the fried things and losing the texture
Heat Sambal on the side Each person adds it by the teaspoon Making the whole pot spicy
Sweetness A little kecap manis Approximate with soy sauce and dark brown sugar Pouring on ordinary Worcestershire-style sauce

What's closest to irreplaceable is the yellow chicken broth and the aroma of fried shallots. Porridge alone isn't much different from any chicken congee. Add the yellow of turmeric, the green aroma of lemongrass and the sweet toastiness of fried shallots, and the same rice and chicken move toward an Indonesian breakfast.

On the other hand, cakwe and kerupuk don't need to be perfect the first time. Cakwe is a fried dough stick close to Chinese youtiao, and it's rarely found outside Asian bakeries. Toasted fried tofu or thin slices of baguette aren't the real thing, but they play the role of "fried things that soften in the porridge."

Causes of failure: watery, raw-tasting, flat broth

Small bowls comparing watery porridge, overly thick porridge and porridge with just the right consistency
How bubur ayam feels to eat depends on the porridge's consistency. Stop it slightly thick before the broth goes on
Problem Cause Fix
Watery Too much broth, or overmixed Uncover and simmer down on low for 5 minutes
The grains are hard Not cooked long enough, or too little water Add 100 ml hot water and cook 8 more minutes on low
The broth tastes flat The spice paste wasn't fried enough Reduce the broth by half in a small pot and add 1/8 tsp salt
It tastes like curry Too much curry powder Go back to turmeric alone, and add aroma with ginger and lemongrass
The fried things go soggy Too much time passed after plating Add the fried shallots and kerupuk just before eating

Stop the porridge slightly thick before ladling it into bowls. The yellow broth adds liquid, so if it's just right in the pot, it will be loose by the time you eat. It's easiest to handle when it drops off a wooden spoon in a thick dollop but doesn't set at the bottom of the pot.

When the broth seems lacking, avoid adding too much soy sauce. It clouds the color, and when you add kecap manis, only the sweet-salty taste comes forward. First, fry the spice paste thoroughly. Next, add salt 1/8 tsp at a time. Finally, sharpen the aroma with white pepper. In this order, the flavor regains its outline.

Storage and a morning game plan

Porridge, chicken, yellow broth, fried shallots and krupuk stored in separate containers
Keeping the porridge, broth, chicken and fried things separate makes it easy to restore the texture the next morning

Bubur ayam is better not stored as a finished bowl. Separate the porridge, yellow broth, chicken, garnishes and fried things. Cool the porridge and broth, refrigerate them in shallow containers and finish them within about 2 days. Tossing the chicken with 2 tbsp broth keeps it from drying out.

To reheat, add 2 tbsp water or chicken broth per serving of porridge and microwave at 600 W for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir, and if it's still thick, continue in 20-second bursts. To reheat in a pot, use low heat for 4 minutes, adding 2 tbsp hot water if it looks like it will scorch. Warm the yellow broth separately in a small pot until it bubbles and pour it on at the end.

On mornings when making everything feels like too much, make just the chicken broth and spice paste the night before. In the morning you only need to cook the porridge, warm the broth and shred the chicken, which takes a lot of the load off the kitchen. It's also natural to use leftover yellow chicken soup from soto ayam (in Japanese) for bubur ayam the next day.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. Can I use Japanese short-grain rice?

Yes. Japanese rice tends to get sticky, so start with 900 ml water and 300 ml chicken broth per cup of rice. Stirring too much along the way makes it heavy, so just turn it from the bottom every 5 minutes. The texture is rounder than with long-grain rice, but it's plenty delicious as a home version.

Q2. Can I make it without kecap manis?

Yes. Warming 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp dark brown sugar and 1 tsp water in a small pan for 30 seconds gets you closer to sweet soy sauce, though the aroma is lighter than the real thing. Kecap manis is also used in nasi goreng (in Japanese) and gado-gado (in Japanese), so if you'll keep cooking Indonesian food, it's a seasoning you're unlikely to waste.

Q3. Does chicken breast turn dry?

You can use chicken breast, but it dries out if overcooked. Use 400 g breast and take it out after 15 minutes on low. Tossing it with 3 tbsp yellow broth after shredding brings back moisture to the surface. Thighs give the broth more richness, so for a first try we recommend thighs.

Q4. I can't find cakwe or kerupuk.

Toasted fried tofu pouches can stand in for cakwe. Thick fried tofu is too heavy, so toast thin pouches in a toaster oven at 180°C for 4 minutes and cut into 1 cm strips. Shrimp crackers or thin rice crackers can replace kerupuk. Both play the role of "crunchy things that soften a little in the porridge," so adding something light and crisp is more fun than leaving them out completely.

Q5. Can I share it with kids or people who don't like spicy food?

Yes. Keep the porridge and yellow broth mild and serve only the sambal on the side. Adults can mix in sambal little by little at the edge of the bowl, while for kids, keep the kecap manis to a few drops. Going easy on the white pepper also makes it a gentler breakfast.

Sources

What to make next

Once you're used to the yellow chicken broth of bubur ayam, soto ayam (in Japanese) is a natural next step with the same aromatics. To use up sweet soy sauce, try mie goreng (in Japanese); to branch out into rice dishes, move on to nasi uduk (in Japanese), and you'll see the range of Indonesian breakfasts and street food. On days you want to make your own heat, slip in how to make a sambal substitute (in Japanese), and you'll have a small Indonesian seasoning shelf in your fridge.

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