Desserts
Bubur Cha Cha (Sweet Potato and Taro in Coconut Milk)
Steam cubes of orange and purple sweet potato and taro, cook small sago pearls until clear, then warm them in pandan-scented sweetened coconut milk with a pinch of salt; serve warm or chilled; about 1 hour for 6.
Bubur cha cha is a cheerful Malaysian and Nyonya dessert soup: cubes of orange and purple sweet potato and creamy taro in sweet, salty coconut milk scented with pandan, with chewy little sago pearls. The roots are steamed separately so they keep their shape and colour, and only meet the coconut milk at the end. It is eaten warm on a rainy afternoon or chilled on a hot one, and it is naturally vegan.
- Serves 6
- Prep: 25 min
- Cook: 35 min
- Total: 1 hr
- Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients
- 200 g orange sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 200 g purple sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 250 g taro (yam), peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 50 g small sago pearls
- 500 ml water
- 4 pandan leaves, tied in a knot
- 100 g sugar
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
Method
- Steam the orange sweet potato, purple sweet potato and taro in a single layer over boiling water for 12–15 minutes, until just tender when pierced with a knife. Keep the taro separate, as it can break up.
- Bring a small pot of water to the boil, add the sago pearls and boil for 10 minutes, stirring often, until only a tiny white dot remains in the centre. Turn off the heat, cover and leave for 5 minutes until fully clear, then rinse under cold water and drain.
- Put the 500 ml water, pandan leaves and sugar in a pot and simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the coconut milk and salt and heat gently until just steaming; do not let it boil hard or the coconut milk may split.
- Add the steamed sweet potatoes, taro and sago and warm through for 2 minutes. Remove the pandan leaves.
- Serve warm, or chill for 2 hours and serve cold.
Tips
- Colour: steaming the purple sweet potato separately keeps the coconut milk from turning grey.
- Extras: add chewy coloured tapioca jellies or cubes of steamed pumpkin.
- Sweetness: use 80 g palm sugar (gula melaka) in place of half the sugar for a deeper caramel flavour.
- Storage: keeps for 2 days in the fridge. The sago thickens it as it stands; loosen with a little water or coconut milk.
Questions
What is bubur cha cha?
A Malaysian and Nyonya dessert of sweet potato and taro cubes with sago pearls in sweet, lightly salted coconut milk scented with pandan.
Why steam the sweet potato and taro separately?
They keep their shape, and the purple sweet potato does not stain the coconut milk grey.
Can bubur cha cha be served cold?
Yes. It is good warm or chilled for 2 hours. Loosen it with a little water or coconut milk if the sago thickens it.
Is bubur cha cha vegan?
Yes. This recipe uses only roots, sago, coconut milk, sugar, salt and pandan.
Is this bubur cha cha halal?
The recipe is pork-free and lists no alcohol, and it uses only plant ingredients. It is not halal-certified, so check the labels on the coconut milk and sago if that matters to you.
A Dada Cooking original recipe. Quantities are metric first, with US amounts in brackets.