Comforting when hot and refreshing when cold, bubur ketan hitam is a popular Indonesian sweet dessert porridge. This dessert is super easy to make with only a few ingredients, and it’s extremely delicious and filling.
All hail Southeast Asian desserts. Unfortunately some of my favs are pretty hard to make at home but bubur ketan hitam (AKA pulut hitam, bubur injin) is SUPER easy.
The first time I made this was on the stove in a huge ass pot, but I realized cooking this in my Instant Pot was way easier. No more sweating by the stove stirring for an hour in the summer lol (still kinda worth it tho). I’ll include instructions for both but I don’t really remember the cooking time for the stove. It’s more just like, take a bite and if the rice is soft it’s done lol.
This recipe is vegan and gluten free! Sticky rice is called glutinous rice because of it’s glue-like texture, but it doesn’t contain gluten! Also if you can find pandan leaves I highly recommend them, but if you live in a Western country like me it can be hard to find. Don’t even get me started on finding raw palm sugar. No worries though, still tastes delicious!
One thing to be careful about is to make sure you’re actually getting black sticky rice, not normal black rice (also called forbidden rice). You won’t get the same texture otherwise, it should be thick and sticky, not like normal rice porridge. I also like to add adzuki beans but it’s totally optional!
Black Sticky Rice Dessert (Bubur Ketan Hitam)
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker (optional)
Ingredients
Porridge
- 200 g black sticky rice (around 1 cup)
- 50 g adzuki beans (around 1/2 cup), optional
- 80 g palm sugar (can substitute with coconut sugar or brown sugar)
- 1000 g water (more or less depending on preferred consistency)
- 2~3 pandan leaves knotted, optional
Coconut 'sauce'
- 1 can coconut cream (OR coconut milk)
- 1/2 tsp salt optional
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (IF using coconut milk)
Instructions
Pressure Cooker:
- Rinse rice and beans. Place all ingredients for porridge in the pressure cooker. Stir to distribute evenly, pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Quick release after 5~10 minutes.
- Stir the mixture until it thickens. It'll look watery at first because it was cooking undisturbed but it'll get thicker as you mix. If the texture isn't to your preference, you can turn on the sauté function of your pressure cooker (or turn on stove if you're using an old one) and stir to reduce/add more water.
- In a small sauce pot, add coconut cream and salt. Heat gently until salt is incorporated, turn off before it reaches a boil. If you're skipping the salt (adds a nice contrast) you can just spoon the coconut cream on top of the porridge directly from the can. If using coconut milk, add the cornstarch & stir til it thickens.
- Serve hot or cold with the coconut sauce drizzled on top.
Stovetop:
- Rinse rice and beans, leave to soak overnight (at least 5~6 hours, make sure there's enough water to cover everything) in a large pot.
- Pour the soaking water out and add fresh water. Add the rest of the ingredients for porridge into the pot. Bring to a boil on the stove and then reduce to a simmer. Leave on medium low simmer for around an hour with the lid on, stir occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. Check consistency and add water if it gets too thick before the rice has cooked all the way. The result should be thick and gooey, the rice and adzuki beans should be cooked through but hold a soft bite.
- In a small sauce pot, add coconut cream and salt. Heat gently until salt is incorporated, turn off before it reaches a boil. If you're skipping the salt (adds a nice contrast) you can just spoon the coconut cream on top of the porridge directly from the can. If using coconut milk, add the cornstarch & stir til it thickens.
- Serve hot or cold with the coconut sauce drizzled on top.
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Glad you liked it!!!