Bubur Ayam Kuah Kuning

A month into this quarantine, I have been into this comfort food cooking frenzy. Today's binge was rice porridge/congee with aromatic chicken broth or Bubur Ayam Kuah Kuning. Bubur ayam is one of the a breakfast staples in the area where I grew up. It's cheap, tasty, and filling. Perfect breakfast menu, IMHO. I used to buy it from the street vendor almost every morning.

Bubur ayam is more than just congee/rice porridge, it has this 1001 accessories that go with it and the rice porridge itself has this aromatic taste to it. Normally, Bubur Ayam uses shredded chicken breasts but I forgot to take them out from the freezer to thaw, so I used fresh chicken gizzard instead.

The porridge/congee:
1 cup uncooked rice (medium grain rice works the best)
8 cups of chicken stock
2 Daun Salam (Indonesian bayleaf)
2 inches galangal
Salt to taste (if you use instant chicken stock, you might not need to add any salt)

The yellow broth:

Spice paste (yep, real Indonesian recipe always starts with spice paste!):

1 onion (medium size)

2 cloves garlic

4 toasted kemiri (candlenuts)

1 tsp coriander seeds

1-2 inches fresh turmeric 

1 inch ginger (optional, I used it because I use chicken gizzard. Ginger helps to make it tender and remove the strong taste of the gizzard)

Oil for sautée 

Broth:

3/4 kg chicken breast (I used chicken heart and gizzard)

1,5 l chicken stock 

1 lemongrass, bruised 

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 inch galangal

1/4 tsp white pepper powder

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste 

Accompaniment:

Thinly sliced scallion

Sambal

Youtia/Chinese crullers (cakwe), sliced

Kerupuk

Fried shallots

Ketjap manis 

Sambal 

Cooking steps: 

1. Cooking the porridge/congee. Wash and drain the rice, then put the rice, chicken stock, Daun Salam, and galangal in a pot. Bring to boil, then lower the heat to minimum and let it simmer until it becomes a congee consistency. Myself, I like it rather sticky like oatmeal, not to runny like soup. Stir often so it doesn't stick the bottom of the pot. 
2. Cooking the broth. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté spice paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal until fragrant, 
3. Add the chicken, let it cook until the meat changes color and stiffens,
4. Add chicken stock, white pepper powder, salt, and sugar, 
5. Reduce heat and let it simmer for at least 45 minutes,
6. Before serving, put aside the meat to shred, in my case I cut the heart and gizzards into tiny bits, and filter the broth to have a nice clear yellow soup,
7. To serve. Put a portion of the porridge/congee into a serving bowl and pour a laddle or two of the broth, add the rest of the accompaniment, and serve it while it's hot. 

Et voila!