September 9, 2006

Do the ChaCha~

*shakes butt to a chacha tune* ....*laughs* the dance isn't exactly what I was referring to. I'm not too confident with the spelling of Bubur cha cha...I've heard it range from bo-bo's to mou-mou's *shrug*
I'll stick with bubur(pronounced boor boor) as it means porridge in Malay; which describes this yummy dessert's consistency.Bubur cha-cha is a 'Nyonya'( mix of Malay+Chinese) dessert which can be eaten hot or cold. It usually consists of sweet potato and yam cubes cooked in coconut milk and sago. I'm personally not too big a fan of bubur cha-cha as its sugar and coconut cream proportions from a single harmless looking bowl could possibly wipe out 2 days worth of my suffering at gym! Why today then?
I blame the rainy+cold morning weather....the 1/2 cup of coconut milk sitting in my refrigerator going to waste..and my Malaysian classmate from Uni that has intentionally provoked my cravings for something sweet and Malaysian. I was so eager for bubur cha-cha early this morning that I totally ignored the fact that I had 'barely any/enough' ingredients to work with at home. Instead of slogging out to the Asian mart in the stormy unforgiving weather; I decided to simply improvise with what I could dig up in my pantry.
  • I didn't have yam- I omitted, sweet potato, jackfruit and chestnuts will suffice
  • I didn't have red sago pearls- I used black tapioca pearls instead; I could have made them on my own, but I didn't quite like the idea of red food coloring.
  • I didn't have coconut cream- I omitted (WoohOoo low-fat bubur!) *grin*
  • I didn't have enough coconut milk - 1/2 tin left :( , my bubur wouldn't be as thick/creamy
For those who love "Authentic" recipes with traditional ingredients. Please do not attempt this recipe! Haha. It's not going to taste like your grandma's lovely bubur cha-cha. But if you're not too picky, watching your weight, looking for a "stir+scoop" bubur chacha recipe and lazy like I am .... this is for you;
1/2 cup uncooked tapioca pearls (used in pearl/bubble tea)
1 tin light coconut milk
1 tin jackfruit sliced into thin strips
1/2 tin water chestnuts roughly chopped
5 long strips screwpine leaves (pandan) tied into a knot
70gms palm sugar (gula melaka)
4-5 cups water
500 gms sweet potatoes peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
500 gms yam diced into 1 inch cubes as well (I didn't have any unfortunately)
Cook yam+sweet potatoes in a microwave steamer on high for 3 minutes. Combine water, sugar and pandan leaves into a large pot and bring to a fierce boil on high heat. Throw in everything else except the coconut milk. Cook for 5-6 minutes until pearls are black, shiny and cooked through. Stir continuously with a large wooden spoon on medium heat. Remove pot from stove and immediately add in coconut milk. Incorporate with a couple gentle swirls of the spoon and it's done! Do not attempt to eat the screwpine leaves...I only had it in the photographed bowl for decorative purposes *heh*

9 comments:

Little Monster said...

*gasp* bobo cha cha without coconut cream? haha. Yeah, coconut cream is SOOO delicious but so bad for health!

Hm...i didn't know that jackfruit goes into bobo cha cha. Because jackfruit has a rather strong smell, will it overpower the more subtle flavours of the pandan leaves and coconut? i know that in Singapore, some hawker stalls put durian into their bobochacha. Durian in bobochacha is really not nice though cos i dislike durians! lol.

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

It was a spontaneous "make bobo cha-cha" morning and I didn't really want to get soaking wet for a can of coconut cream....not to mention the many layers it will add to my waistline. Haha Jack fruit in bobochacha is more of a Philipino touch. It does not overpower the coconut at all. It has a sweet distinct flavour but when added in moderation it helps reduce the need for large amounts of sugar. At home in Malaysia when I was younger, My philipino maid always had it in our cold bowls of sago bobocha-cha...sigh* ...I miss those days when I didn't have a clue what "fat"/"cholestrol" meant. LOL

Ow3N~w3iHoN said...

wahahaha! harroww arboooo! u genius.. bubur cha cha indeed.. im gonna have my 21st at the beach probably! u better be there along wif ur 2 layzeee homiez. hahaha! and ur blog is like centre of attraction. u know what... maybe u should make a cooking video and upload it into YouTube.. u very well could be the next sensation at the stove after Jamie Oliver! hehe...

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you're making ANOTHER one of my favourite things: bo bo cha cha. I had this in Singapore. Yum! Will try to make it here in Canada but I might have a hard time finding the ingredients ...

Anonymous said...

where'd u manage to buy the pandan leaves in sydney?

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

hmm...it usually isnt displayed in stores, but try asking the counter at asian supermarkets. THey usually have some in the freezer or fresh bunches in stock

Anonymous said...

I just tried Bo Bo Cha Cha tonight for the first time and the restaurant was nice enough to write down the ingredients in their version. My grandmother was a fiend for tapioca and passed that love onto me. I came across your site as I googled for more info on the dish. Nice to see that I can make it pretty easily at home.

Unknown said...

woman, found ure blog while looking for bubu chacha (that's how I spell it!) recipe. just had to commend u 4 ur way cool blog (haven't seen all the postings yet but i'm certainly bookmarking u! need the culinary advice as my own cooking skills are not too flash:P
am a fellow chinese msian (and totally miss msian food!)..but living in melb... not that far away from sydney!;)

Anonymous said...

I've heard even worse..."mor mor char char"! Well, I am not being pervert here, please don't get mad. It's really how people around me pronounced! Whatever it is, I like it veeerrry much!

BTW, nice site you have here. The photos are just lovely, esp. the small cartoon-cookies.