Lately, I’ve really been thinking a lot about taking care of myself. When I say that, I mean not just mentally, but also physically, financially and professionally. Ever since I moved back home, I’ve been pretty much hanging the fate of my meals in the hands of my Stepmom—who cooks food for us at home everyday—except when eating out. Although her food is great, sometimes it’s not in keeping with my taste and/or nutritional needs.
So, I’ve decided last week to start meal planning every week. Since I don’t always have the time to cook my food or the money to buy excess ingredients, I thought I’d start with planning my own breakfast first. On the look out for breakfast ideas online, I was met with a barrage of breakfast bowls, using oats and chia seeds all the time. Unfortunately, those two are either hard to find or significantly expensive to get on this part of the world—especially the latter.
Now, in keeping with my desire to use more local ingredients and recipes, I thought I’d put a twist on our Bubur Sumsum a.k.a. Coconut Rice Porridge instead. Researching other food that may be a good substitute to the trending chia seeds, I thought this would be a good choice for fellow Indonesians.
Ingredients
- 65 ml thick coconut milk, diluted
- 4 tbsp. rice flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 pandanus leaf (optional)
- 2 tbsp. peanut butter
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
- 4 grapes
- Boil half of the coconut milk (with the pandanus leaf) in a saucepan on low heat
- Add rice flour to the other half and mix well
- Sprinkle the salt and pour the rice flour mixture into the saucepan
- Stir the mixture well until it thickens
- Turn up the heat to medium and let it boil, while keep stirring
- Remove from heat and let cool
- Transfer the porridge into a bowl
- Add the peanut butter and mix well
- Garnish with banana and sesame seeds
- Dig in!
Tips: The coconut milk used in this recipe is the one for cooking—which is quite thick—and definitely not one you can have as a beverage. If you want to be cautious, add the flour little by little after boiling, because only then is the thickness apparent. But, if you want to add more flour after boiling, make sure you dilute it with water.
The pandanus leaf is only for aroma, so not using it is okay as well. If you’re in a hurry in the mornings, it is best to make the porridge the night before, stick it in the fridge and microwave it for 30 seconds the next morning. If you don’t want to use peanut butter, you can have the porridge with its usual kinca sauce—which is literally melted palm sugar—but the peanut butter is for your early-morning protein intake. Originally, I used only one banana and 3 table spoons peanut butter, but I’ve adjusted the recipe more to how I think it should be.
Obviously, like any breakfast bowls, you can switch up the garnish with whatever fruit is available to you—I would trade the grapes for cherries, if they were easier to find. Lastly, I think it’s best to divide this recipe for two servings. Lass es euch schmecken!
Lately, I’ve really been thinking a lot about taking care of myself. When I say that, I mean not just mentally, but also physically, financially and professionally. Ever since I moved back home, I’ve been pretty much hanging the fate of my meals in the hands of my Stepmom—who cooks food for us at home everyday—except when eating out. Although her food is great, sometimes it’s not in keeping with my taste and/or nutritional needs.
So, I’ve decided last week to start meal planning every week. Since I don’t always have the time to cook my food or the money to buy excess ingredients, I thought I’d start with planning my own breakfast first. On the look out for breakfast ideas online, I was met with a barrage of breakfast bowls, using oats and chia seeds all the time. Unfortunately, those two are either hard to find or significantly expensive to get on this part of the world—especially the latter.
Now, in keeping with my desire to use more local ingredients and recipes, I thought I’d put a twist on our Bubur Sumsum a.k.a. Coconut Rice Porridge instead. Researching other food that may be a good substitute to the trending chia seeds, I thought this would be a good choice for fellow Indonesians.
Ingredients
- 65 ml thick coconut milk, diluted
- 4 tbsp. rice flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 pandanus leaf (optional)
- 2 tbsp. peanut butter
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
- 4 grapes
- Boil half of the coconut milk (with the pandanus leaf) in a saucepan on low heat
- Add rice flour to the other half and mix well
- Sprinkle the salt and pour the rice flour mixture into the saucepan
- Stir the mixture well until it thickens
- Turn up the heat to medium and let it boil, while keep stirring
- Remove from heat and let cool
- Transfer the porridge into a bowl
- Add the peanut butter and mix well
- Garnish with banana and sesame seeds
- Dig in!
Tips: The coconut milk used in this recipe is the one for cooking—which is quite thick—and definitely not one you can have as a beverage. If you want to be cautious, add the flour little by little after boiling, because only then is the thickness apparent. But, if you want to add more flour after boiling, make sure you dilute it with water.
The pandanus leaf is only for aroma, so not using it is okay as well. If you’re in a hurry in the mornings, it is best to make the porridge the night before, stick it in the fridge and microwave it for 30 seconds the next morning. If you don’t want to use peanut butter, you can have the porridge with its usual kinca sauce—which is literally melted palm sugar—but the peanut butter is for your early-morning protein intake. Originally, I used only one banana and 3 table spoons peanut butter, but I’ve adjusted the recipe more to how I think it should be.
Obviously, like any breakfast bowls, you can switch up the garnish with whatever fruit is available to you—I would trade the grapes for cherries, if they were easier to find. Lastly, I think it’s best to divide this recipe for two servings. Lass es euch schmecken!