Chicken porridge is often an option for breakfast in the morning. When you're having a holiday in Bali, you have the opportunity to enjoy the traditional porridge similar to chicken porridge, but with a more delicious taste. It’s called Mengguh porridge, a traditional Balinese culinary that’s often found in the North Bali region.

Mengguh Porridge 

The appearance of this porridge is indeed almost similar to the chicken porridge that you usually find in street stalls. It’s a porridge with shredded chicken and soybeans on top. As a complement, the sellers also sometimes add pieces of chicken eggs. However, there are a number of different things that can be found between Mengguh porridge and chicken porridge. Mengguh porridge doesn’t use celery leaves. You won’t also find crackers or chicken jeroan satay and ati ampela satay. Instead, the typical Buleleng porridge serving is accompanied by thick chicken broth and vegetable ointment.

The ingredients needed to make Mengguh porridge are easy to find in some traditional markets: rice, santan (coconut milk), bay leaves, long beans, fried peanuts, chicken breast, and fried onions. In addition, you also need to prepare some additional seasonings so that the porridge tastes more delicious and has a rich flavor. The ingredients for seasoning are salt, pepper, coriander, hazelnut, roasted turmeric, onion, garlic, and red chili. The spices will be mixed and mashed. 

After that, you have to stir-fry the seasoning until it’s fragrant, then you can add the chicken ingredients, powdered broth, galangal, and bay leaves. Once cooked, chicken and soup are separated. Next, cook the rice until soft, then add bay leaves, coconut milk, and salt, then stir it well until it becomes porridge. The specialty of the Mengguh porridge also lies in coconut milk. If the porridge is usually cooked with water, the Mengguh porridge adds coconut milk to soften the texture. After that, the separated chicken broth was poured over the porridge and then sprinkle the shredded chicken on top. 

As a complement, you also have to make an urap. Urap is made by mixing raw vegetables such as long beans with grated coconut. In addition, there are also additional ingredients such as brown sugar, kencur, orange leaves, garlic, red chili, and shrimp paste. Blend urap and mix it with other ingredients. 

This porridge has a unique taste, combining spicy and savory flavors. The taste feels more solid when combined with a splash of thick chicken broth and vegetable ointment. Like chicken porridge, Mengguh porridge is also an attractive choice for breakfast. When it rains, Mengguh will be the perfect menu to be enjoyed. It will warm your body instantly. 

Porridge is one of the special meals. Because it often becomes the main dish for traditional Hindu-Balinese ceremonies. But now, there are also many restaurants and food stalls that sell this porridge. So you don't need to wait until the traditional ceremony to get a chance to taste this chicken porridge.