Bubur gunting — Banjarmasin, Indonesia

Bubur gunting is a sweet porridge built around small rounds of steamed rice-flour dough that are snipped off with scissors as they are added to the pot, a gesture that gives the dish its name, since gunting means scissors. It is reported from Banjarmasin, where it is served warm as a breakfast or afternoon dish, ladled into bowls from large pots kept simmering at market stalls and home kitchens alike. To prepare it, a stiff dough of rice flour and a little tapioca flour is steamed until firm, then held in one hand while small rounds are cut directly into a simmering pot of coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar and scented with pandan leaf. The dumplings cook through in the hot liquid, turning slightly translucent and tender, and the porridge is simmered gently until the coconut milk thickens a little. What distinguishes this version is the texture of the cut dumplings, softer at the torn edges than a rolled and cut piece would be, and the balance between the plain rice dough and the sweetened, pandan-scented coconut milk that carries it. Cooks adjust the thickness of the coconut milk and the amount of palm sugar to taste.