In Indonesian, bubur means “porridge” and sumsum means “bone marrow”, used metaphorically to describe the smoothness and colour, rather than taste, of this recipe.
This pudding is like a light and silky panna cotta made with creamy coconut milk and caramelised palm sugar — perfect for those who prefer to avoid dairy and gluten.
Don’t be alarmed by the salt in the recipe; its savoury flavour is designed to balance the sweetness of the palm sugar. It’s a unique and modern interpretation of a classic pudding, especially with the roasted cashew nuts to add flavour, colour and contrasting crunch.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Place the cashews on a baking sheet and roast for 14–16 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine the rice flour and 100ml of water and mix well. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the pandan leaf, salt and coconut milk. Add 500ml of water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Strain the rice flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve (strainer) and into the pan. Whisk over medium-high heat until thick and smooth. Remove the pandan leaf.
- Pour the mixture into 10 dessert glasses or ramekins. Set aside to cool. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight to set.
- Remove the chilled pudding from the refrigerator, then drizzle 2 tablespoons of palm sugar syrup into each glass. Sprinkle with roasted cashews and serve.
A popular Indonesian sweetener for desserts and drinks.
Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, add 100ml of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, until syrupy. Set aside to cool, then strain. The sauce will thicken as it cools. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 month.
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Coconut Pudding with Caramelised Banana (Bubur Sumsum dengan Pisang Karamel)
Chop 2 bananas into 1cm cubes and place in a small saucepan. Add 3½ tablespoons of palm sugar and 4 tablespoons of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3–4 minutes, until the banana is caramelised and the water has reduced by half. Leave to cool. Top pudding with the banana, palm sugar syrup and roasted cashews.
Pandan Coconut Pudding (Bubur Sumsum Pandan)
Prepare the Pandan Extract. Top up the liquid with water to yield 600ml. Replace all water within the recipe with this pandan water.
Recipe extracted from The Indonesian Table by Petty Pandean-Elliott (Phaidon, $60), available now.
