Tinutuan

Ingredients

• 150 g short or medium grain rice
• 300 g sweet potato
• 400 g pumpkin or kabocha squash
• 2 corn cobs
• 2 litres water
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 150 g water spinach (kangkung)
• 100 g spinach or gedi leaves
• 30 g lemon basil leaves (kemangi)
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp crisp fried shallots
• 2 spring onions
• 150 g smoked or salted fish, to serve
• 4 tbsp sambal roa or dabu-dabu, to serve

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice twice in cold water and drain it.
• Peel the sweet potato and pumpkin and cut both into 2 cm cubes.
• Stand each corn cob upright and slice the kernels away from the core.
• Bruise the lemongrass stalks with the back of a knife.
• Wash the water spinach and spinach, then chop both into short lengths.
• Pick the lemon basil leaves from their stems.
• Slice the spring onions thinly.

Steps

1. Put the rice, sweet potato cubes, lemongrass and salt into a large heavy pot and pour in the water.
2. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then turn it down to a steady simmer.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the rice grains have burst and the sweet potato is soft.
4. Stir in the pumpkin cubes and the corn kernels.
5. Simmer for a further 15 minutes, stirring often so nothing sticks, until the pumpkin gives way under the spoon.
6. Press the pumpkin against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon so it dissolves and turns the whole porridge orange.
7. Fish out the lemongrass stalks and discard them.
8. Stir in the chopped water spinach and spinach and cook for 3 minutes, until they are just wilted but still green.
9. Take the pot off the heat and fold through the lemon basil leaves so their scent stays fresh.
10. Taste the porridge and add more salt if it needs it.
11. Ladle into deep bowls and scatter over the fried shallots and spring onions.
12. Serve with the smoked fish and sambal on the side for spooning in.