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Sanpiau
Rice porridge with fish sauce
Sanpiau: Aizawl's silky rice porridge with fish sauce, pepper, crisp shallots and herbs
Sanpiau is the street-stall breakfast and afternoon snack of Aizawl, Mizoram: a thin, silky rice porridge ladled into bowls and finished at the table with fish sauce, black pepper, crisp fried shallots, coriander and, often, shredded chicken. It came to Mizoram via Myanmar and is now as Mizo as bai. The common mistake is under-stirring, so the rice catches on the base; stir every few minutes once it thickens. Chef's tip: let everyone season their own bowl, since fish sauce brands vary a lot in saltiness.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the porridge
- 5 ½ oz short-grain ricerinsed
- 6 ¼ cups water or light vegetable stock
- 3 cm piece gingersliced
- ½ tsp salt
To finish
- 5 ½ oz cooked chicken, shredded (optional)heated through to 74 °C
- 4 tsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
- 4 tbsp crisp fried shallots
- 4 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
- 2 spring onionssliced
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Bring 5 ½ oz short-grain rice, 6 ¼ cups water or light vegetable stock, 3 cm piece ginger and ½ tsp salt to a boil in a large pot.
8 minStep 2: Lower the heat and simmer, half covered, stirring every few minutes, until the grains have burst and the porridge is smooth and pourable.
30 minStep 3: Remove the ginger. If using 5 ½ oz cooked chicken, shredded, stir it in and simmer until it is piping hot (165°F in the centre).
3 minStep 4: Ladle into bowls and top each with 4 tsp fish sauce, ½ tsp black pepper, 4 tbsp crisp fried shallots, 4 tbsp fresh coriander and 2 spring onions. Serve with 4 lime wedges.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sanpiau take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- 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 short-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of water or light vegetable stock?
- Chicken stock, same amount (not vegetarian).
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