Malaysian · soup

Bubur Lambuk (Ramadan Spiced Rice Porridge)

Bubur Lambuk (Ramadan Spiced Rice Porridge) reads umami 7.2, richness 4.9 and salinity 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Malaysian soup, about 1 hr 36 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.4 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.5 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.7 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.2 · Richness 4.9 · Salinity 4.3 · Allium 4.0 · Citrus 3.1 · Herbaceous 2.9 · Sweetness 2.9 · Warm Spice 2.7 · Nutty 2.6 · Floral 2.3 · Earthy 2.3 · Fruity 1.6 · Bitterness 1.2 · Heat 0.8 · Sourness 0.7

What's in it (16)

• long-grain rice — 300 g
• boneless beef chuck — 400 g
• beef stock — 2500 g
• coconut milk — 368 g
• fennel seed — 15 g
• cumin seed — 15 g
• coriander seed — 15 g
• black peppercorns — 5 g
• shallots — 160 g
• garlic — 30 g
• fresh ginger — 40 g
• lemongrass — 80 g
• vegetable oil — 41 g
• salt — 10 g
• crisp fried shallots — 59 g
• spring onions — 440 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 36 min (1 hr 35 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 86.9 kcal, 3.9 g protein, 4.5 g fat, 8.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Toast the fennel, cumin, coriander seed and peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until they smell nutty and a few seeds start to jump. Grind them coarsely. Fennel leading over cumin is what makes this taste Malay rather than Indian, and it is the smell that fills the streets around a mosque in the last hour before iftar.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and fry the shallots, garlic and ginger for 8 minutes until soft and golden at the edges.
3. Add the ground spices and fry 1 minute in the hot oil until they darken slightly.
4. Add the diced beef and stir 6 minutes until it has lost its raw colour and taken on the spice.
5. Add the rinsed rice, the stock, the lemongrass and the salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cook 60 to 75 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and scraping the bottom, until the grains have burst and collapsed and the porridge is thick enough that a spoon leaves a trail. Add hot water if it gets too stiff; bubur lambuk should pour slowly, not stand up.
6. Stir in the coconut milk and cook 10 minutes more over low heat without boiling. Taste for salt; a porridge this size needs more than you expect.
7. Serve very hot in bowls with fried shallots and spring onion on top. In Kuala Lumpur it is cooked in enormous cauldrons at Masjid Jamek Kampung Baru during Ramadan and handed out free in plastic bags, which is why the recipe scales so easily.
8. Substitutions: water can stand in for the litres beef stock.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Kalio Daging (Minang Beef Stopped at the Wet Stage) — Indonesian
• Hawawshi — Egyptian
• Porotos Granados — Latin American
• Ndizi Nyama (Green Banana and Beef Stew) — Tanzanian
• Beef and Chickpea Harissa Stew — Middle Eastern

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.