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Bubur Ketan Hitam - Glutinous Black Rice Sweet Porridge
Indonesian bubur ketan hitam (glutinous black rice sweet porridge) is a delicious, sweet, thick, and very filling porridge that is always a popular choice for breakfast, tea time, or supper. Plus, this happens to be gluten-free and vegan friendly.
Bubur ketan hitam, also known as bubur pulut hitam or bubur injun, is a popular Indonesian sweet porridge from black glutinous rice (or black sticky rice), palm sugar, scented with pandan leaves, and eaten with thick coconut milk.
This simple dessert is not only popular in Indonesia, but also throughout most other Southeast Asian and East Asian countries. Like most Asian dessert, bubur ketan hitam also happens to be gluten-free and vegan friendly.
Black glutinous rice
The main ingredient for this dessert is the black glutinous rice, or black sticky rice.
Almost any Asian grocery store should carry this, most likely in the rice section, and possibly just next to the white sticky rice (sometimes also known as sweet rice).
Since black glutinous rice takes quite a bit of time to cook, we usually soak it for at least 4 hours, preferrably overnight, to shorten the cooking time. I usually wash and rinse them before I go to bed and soak in cold water overnight, then cook the rice the following day.
Pandan leaves
I understand that sometimes it can be hard to procure weird ingredients, like pandan leaves. And although you may be tempted to skip it since we only use 2 leaves for the whole recipe, I highly suggest you hunt down said leaves for this recipe.
Sure black glutinous rice is very fragrant on its own, but pandan leaves is our version of vanilla, and your bubur ketan hitam will definitely be different if you don’t cook it with some pandan leaves.
In most Asian grocery stores that I have frequented over the years, and over many cities throughout United States, they are usually in the freezer alongside frozen banana leaves.
Coconut milk/coconut cream
Coconut milk and bubur ketan hitam just goes hand in hand. For those of us who grow up eating bubur ketan hitam for breakfast (and tea time, or even for supper), bubur ketan hitam is just not complete without a big dollop of thick coconut milk.
If you can find coconut cream instead of coconut milk, even better!
In my photos, I added toasted sesame seeds, and slices of toasted almond. These are not common, but I have to say, the sesame seeds and the almond slices give an extra nuttiness edge to the already nutty bubur ketan hitam. But if you have nuts allergy, definitely don’t add them.
As is, the basic combination of bubur ketan hitam plus coconut milk/cream is already super delicious.
Bubur Ketan Hitam - Glutinous Black Rice Sweet Porridge
Ingredients
- 100 gram black glutinous rice
- 2 liter (8 cup) water
- 2 fresh pandan leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 100-150 gram palm sugar (or regular sugar)
- 4 tablespoon thick coconut milk (or coconut cream)
Instructions
- Soak glutinous black rice in cold water for 4 hours, preferrably overnight, drained.
- In a soup pot, add the glutinous rice, water, pandan leaves, and salt and bring to boil. Cook until the liquid has thickened.
- Reduce heat, cover the lid and simmer until it reaches a porridge like consistency.
- Add the sugar and stir until sugar has fully dissolved. Turn off the heat.
- Divide into serving bowls and add 1 tablespoon of thick coconut milk (or coconut cream) per serving.
Comments
saya suka banget sama bubur ketan hitam. tp secara di negara tempat saya tinggal sekarang selain harga santan kalegan yg ga murah..daun pandan pun blum pernah saya temukan disini. saya siasatii dgn mengganti santan dgn campuran susu+krim+bubuk vanilla dan daun pandan saya ganti dengan bubuk vanilla. btw..thanks for sharing your recipes..^^
Wah, salut dengan kreasinya untuk menyiasati bahan-bahan yang tidak tersedia ataupun mahal. Sepertinya pantas untuk dicoba nih Wilda :)
Kalau di New York sih banyak daun pandan, tapi harus di asian market, Vietnam ,Thai, Indonesian. saya dapat yang product of vietnam. merk KFI atau K Fat Inc. namanya pandang leaves atau feuille de pandang. adanya di freezer di super market. ya frozen.
He eh, betul. Kalo di US, daun pandan selalu di frozen section.
Hello Anita, untuk menghemat waktu dan bahan bakar, saya menggunakan pressure cooker dgn api kecil kira2 30 menit, lalu matikan apinya. Lalu diamkan sampai panasnya dan tekanan menurun lalu masukan gulanya. Bila perlu dimasak lagi sesuaidgn kekentalan yang di inginkan. Kesukaan saya adalah menambahkan jali jali. Jali jalinya saya rebus terpisah sampai empuk tapi masih kenyal. Lalu dicampurkan dgn bubur ketan hitam. Saya masak bubur nasi dgn pressure cooker juga. biasanya saya kasih airnya separuh dulu. Nanti kalau sudah selesai di pressure baru saya sesuaikan kekentalannya dgn selera. Thank you for sharing your recipes
Hmm...begitu toh, thank you banget buat tipsnya. Sepertinya enak yah ditambah jali-jali, jadi pengen nyobain juga :)
This is so creative. I have never tried something like this before. This is a good idea and amazing recipe too. Something very unique and colorful. Need to try it out.
If you have the chance, definitely give it a try. This is a very popular and very common dessert not only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and I believe Taiwan too.
I love black rice. I cook it at home fairly often but have never tried it this way. This rice looks fantastic like a heavenly bowl of goodness. Love that coconut cream and the garnishes.
On the other hand, I buy black sticky rice regularly mainly to cook bubur ketan hitam. :D
This was amazing! Thanks for sharing
I would love to try this, it looks so interesting and like nothing I've ever tried. Saving this recipe. Thanks!
This kind of sweet porridge dessert is not too common in the West, but is everywhere in Southeast Asia and East Asia countries.
Wow, this looks so flavorful and delicious. I think I never had anything like this before. But flavors got me interested in this recipe. I will save it and try to get ingredients from a local store. Can't wait to give it a try.
Yay! Hopefully you can easily find all the ingredients from your local store Natalie. :)
Hi Anita, I got a chance to taste Kheer made from rice and jaggery at one of the Indian catering event but didn't get an opportunity to this taste black rice porridge. This black rice sweet dessert with coconut milk seems to be rich in taste and savour. It's one few of the unique and must try dish. Thanks for sharing this delightful cuisine.
This rice porridge is so amazing! I love combo of palm sugar and coconut milk!
I've never tried black sticky rice before, and I can't wait to give it a go. I've called one of our local specialty markets, and they have what I need, so I'm going to try it.
Looks like a healthy breakfast. I'll have to try this.
This was so amazing!! Thank you for sharing!!!!
This looks mouthwatering!! I love that it is flavored with coconut cream. I can't wait to make this! I just have to find black rice :)
I live in LA, I love black glutinous rice porridge. ( Bubur Ketan Hitam). This is my favorite dessert. I used to buy all my Asian grocery at Thai town in Hollywood Blvd. They also sell frozen Pandan leaves. If you are looking for Asian grocery, you can also get from 99 Ranch Market, they have almost everything there.
This recipe looks delicious! I love Ketan Hitam but unfortunately haven't been able to find pandan leaves where I am - but I did find pandan essence. Would this be okay to use in this recipe?
Hi Yana, if you have the colorless version of pandan essence, I think it should be okay. I'm not sure how the bubur ketan will look when using the green color pandan essence. :)
Hi Anita! I am a long time follower, first time commenter. With the COVID-19 going on, I stayed at home more and missing Indonesian food more since it is not that easy to fly to Indonesia right now. Your blog is a life saver, thank you so much for sharing your recipes. I think this bubur ketan hitam will go very well with bubur kacang ijo. I am making bubur kacang ijo now with InstantPot as I am typing, I am going to try making bubur ketan hitam tomorrow.
Anita If I want double the recipe, should the water be doubled from 2 litres to 4 litres? Seems like a lot. Thanks.
Hi John, you can try adding only 50% more water, so a total of 3 liters. If you are happy with the texture and the softness of the sticky rice by the end of the cooking time, you don't need to add more water. If the rice is still not soft enough, you can continue cooking by adding 1/2 cup of water at a time until you are happy with the texture.
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