Bubur Pulut Hitam (黑糯米粥)

"Au Bee Bay", as it is commonly called in Singapore, is made from black glutinous rice. This black (more like deep purple than black, btw) sticky rice is natually sweet that has fiber and loads of antioxidants.

Black glutinous rice is one of the most common grain enjoyed through asia, from China to Philippines, from Japan to Indonesia.

I used to think that this au-bee-bay is very difficult to cook, and often buy the ready-to-eat from the foodcourt. Those are really overdosed on sugar that gives me toothache. I was glad to find the recipe in Lily's blog.

Black Glutinous Rice Sweet Soup
250 g black glutinous rice
50 g white glutinous rice
5 litres water
150 g sugar (or to taste)
2–3 pandan leaves, knotted
Toppings: Thick coconut milk mix with ½ tsp salt

Method:
1. Wash black and white glutinous rice thoroughly and soak overnight (or several hours to soften the grain).

2. Put rice and water into a crockerpot and cook over medium heat until rice is soft and almost creamy.

3. When rice has reached the desired consistency, add pandan leaves and sugar. Simmer for a further 10–15 minutes over gentle heat. (Sugar should never be added in the beginning of cooking).

4. Serve with coconut cream.


Notes:

• This portion is really huge due to the g. rice swells and expands when cooked. For a family of 4, halved the portion. Any leftover can be kept in the fridge for 3 days.


• White glutinous rice makes the soup smooth and creamy - soemthing I learn from Lily.


• Pandan leave adds a sweet aroma to the dish.


• Soaking make the rice softer but I didn't plan in advance, so I just wash and dump into the crockerpot. It'll take a longer while more to be cooked. I left it to cooke overnight, and next morning, ready to pack for breakfast!


• I use rock sugar instead of granulated sugar - Chinese believes it is nutritionally superior to ordinary sugar and tastes better.
  

Variation:
In Singapore and Malaysia, this is cooked with more liquid so that it is like a sweet soupy dessert. In Thai, it is cooked with more coconut and less liquid and eaten like a pudding.

PS: I do not know why I have this infactuation with the tai-ji symbol... I have been thinking about this whenever I eat the black porridge.