Bubur Ayam

Ingredients

• 200g jasmine rice
• 2 litres chicken stock
• 400g boneless chicken thighs
• 3 shallots, peeled
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 4 tbsp crispy fried shallots
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 4 tbsp kecap manis
• handful of prawn crackers, crushed
• 50g roasted salted soybeans or peanuts
• sambal oelek, to serve

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs almost clear, then drain it.
• Pound or blend the shallots, garlic and ginger to a paste.
• Slice the spring onions thinly and set them aside with the fried shallots.

Steps

1. Bring 700ml of the chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan with the lemongrass and lime leaves.
2. Lower in the chicken thighs and poach them gently for 15 minutes until cooked through.
3. Lift the chicken out and let it rest for 5 minutes, then shred it into strips.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the shallot, garlic and ginger paste for 4 minutes until fragrant.
5. Add the turmeric and coriander and fry for 30 seconds more.
6. Stir half the fried paste through the shredded chicken along with the soy sauce and set it aside.
7. Tip the rice into a large heavy pot with the remaining fried paste and the rest of the stock.
8. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn the heat right down.
9. Simmer the porridge for 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and scraping the bottom so it does not catch.
10. Add the poaching liquid a ladle at a time if the porridge thickens past the texture of thin custard.
11. Season the porridge with the salt and white pepper and taste it.
12. Ladle the porridge into four bowls while it is very hot.
13. Top each bowl with the seasoned shredded chicken, fried shallots, spring onions, crushed crackers and soybeans.
14. Drizzle over the kecap manis and serve with sambal on the side.