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Bubur cha cha

Warm coconut-milk pudding with sweet potato, taro and sago pearls

Bubur cha cha is a Nyonya (Peranakan) dessert from Penang and Melaka, cooked in big pots for Chap Goh Meh, the fifteenth night of Chinese New Year, and eaten all year as a sweet soup after dinner or a mid-afternoon snack. Cubes of orange and purple sweet potato and taro float in pandan-scented coconut milk with tiny, glassy sago pearls; the colours are part of the charm. It's soothing, gently sweet and comforting, warm on a rainy evening or cold from the fridge in the heat. Chef's tip: a small pinch of salt in the coconut milk lifts the sweetness and stops it tasting flat.
Total time
40 min
Difficulty
easy
Serves
6
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Ingredients

Serves6

Method

0/5 done
  1. Step 1: Steam 9 oz taro, 9 oz orange sweet potato and 7 oz purple sweet potato in separate piles (or on separate plates) over boiling water on a medium-high heat for 12–15 minutes, until a skewer slides in easily but the cubes still hold their corners. Cooking everything together in the pot is the usual mistake: the taro turns to mush and the purple bleeds into everything.

    15 min
  2. Step 2: Meanwhile bring a small pan of water to a rolling boil and pour in 1 ⅜ oz small sago pearls, stirring so it doesn't clump. Boil for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the pearls are translucent with just a tiny white dot in the middle. Turn off the heat, cover for 5 minutes, then rinse in a sieve under cold water.

    15 min
  3. Step 3: Bring 3 cups water to the boil with 3 pandan leaves, 3 ⅛ oz sugar and ½ tsp salt and simmer over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the water smells of pandan.

    5 min
  4. Step 4: Turn the heat to low, pour in 1 ¾ cups coconut milk and heat until it steams, without letting it boil, so it stays smooth. Take out the pandan.

    3 min
  5. Step 5: Add the steamed cubes and sago and warm through for 2 minutes. Serve warm, or chill for a few hours and serve cold.

    2 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
250 kcal
Protein
2 g
Carbs
40 g
Fat
10 g
Fibre
4 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does bubur cha cha take?
About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegan?
Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
Is it gluten free?
Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of orange sweet potato?
Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
What can I use instead of purple sweet potato?
Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).

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