The colourful bubur cha cha and pengat—almost similar, yet different
In Malay, “bubur” means “porridge”. As for “cha cha”, some say it echoes the Hokkien phrase “che che”, commonly linked to abundance. Many locals in Penang associate bubur cha cha with the island’s Chinese Peranakan kitchens, and oral tradition says it was first made there over a century ago. However, written records tying the name and its origins to a specific person, date, or text are scarce, and scholars of food history have not reached a firm consensus on the etymology of its name.
Bubur cha cha is a sweet, santan-based dessert made with pieces of sweet potato in yellow, orange and purple, taro and tapioca jelly, fragrant with pandan leaves, also known as screwpine. Some cooks today add black-eyed peas or sago pearls, though these were not part of earlier Straits Chinese versions.
In Penang, it is a popular local dessert which is truly lemak and delicious. Commonly sold by street vendors at markets, hawker centres, and some restaurants, it is available all year round and can be enjoyed warm or chilled.
A small portion is usually enough, and a petite Straits Chinese porcelain bowl is the perfect size. Too much can leave one feeling “jelak", a Malay term for bored or tired that has long been adopted into the Penang Chinese Peranakan vocabulary.
In Penang, pengat (or pungat) is a festive offering prepared by Nyonyas for Chap Goh Meh, the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, marking the end of the celebrations. It is often served at the altar for gods and ancestors and shared with the whole family. Similar to bubur cha cha, it has one crucial extra ingredient: caramelised banana slices, usually pisang raja, making it truly sedaplicious.
Some people say the difference between the two dishes lies in the shape of the root vegetables. In my household, for as long as I can remember, all the sweet potatoes and taro were cut into diamond shapes. I can still picture my late father entrusted with the task, carefully ensuring each piece was as uniform as possible. Some traditionalists, however, insist that for pengat, the sweet potatoes should be cut into rectangles.
It is often said that the coconut gravy for pengat is thicker than that for bubur cha cha. The caramelisation of pisang raja naturally thickens the sauce. To me, a good coconut gravy should be lemak (rich and creamy), never diluted, and always a pristine white, whether in pengat or bubur cha cha.
In some cases, gula melaka (palm sugar) is added to sweeten the sauce, but this can darken its colour, turning it beige. Since the dish uses fresh santan (coconut milk), a pinch of salt helps enhance its lemakness. If possible, avoid commercially preserved coconut milk found in boxes. Once the sauce comes to a boil, remove it from the heat immediately to prevent the santan from breaking down and releasing oil (pecah minyak). This dessert is best enjoyed fresh and should not be stored in the fridge for days.
Although pengat is traditionally prepared only once a year for Chap Goh Meh, I often make it whenever I come across a batch of beautiful sweet potatoes and pisang raja.
Ask ten people, and you may get ten different definitions of pengat and bubur cha cha. In some recipes, black-eyed peas appear only in pengat, and some cooks even add ti kuih (caramelised glutinous rice cake). In my household, however, ti kuih has never been included.
To my mind, the components of a dish should blend harmoniously, offering well-balanced flavours and engaging textures. While tradition provides inspiration, it need not be followed rigidly. Traditionalists will readily explain the ingredients they deem essential, along with the symbolic meanings attached to each. Yet one suspects that many of these “rules” are, in truth, customs observed within individual households rather than doctrines carved in stone. After all, while there are published cookbooks and records documenting Nyonya recipes and food history, I have not found definitive written sources that settle every claim about mandatory ingredients or symbolic meanings across households.
Culinary heritage is a living tradition, shaped by memory, taste, and circumstance—not by any single authority. To suggest otherwise would be to deny the very evolution that makes Nyonya cuisine so remarkable. I advocate a more liberating approach: let your preferences lead, embrace experimentation, and allow adventurousness to unveil delightful surprises and uncharted culinary territories. This spirit of ingenuity has long defined the Nyonyas, whose confidence and creativity in the kitchen form the very foundation of their culinary prowess.
Useful tips in preparing some of the ingredients
Blanch the sweet potatoes and taro separately until cooked, testing with a fork for doneness. Assemble the ingredients only just before serving. This would prevent the purple sweet potato from staining the beautiful white sauce and helps preserve the texture of each component.
For the translucent tapioca jellies, the key is to add boiling water to the tapioca starch and mix to form a dough. The water-to-starch ratio must be precise; too much or too little will create a gummy mess. Divide the dough into portions, colour them as you like, then roll out and cut diagonally into diamond shapes. Boil the pieces until they float, then plunge them into cold water. These jellies add colour and a chewy texture to the dish.
As for cooking the sago pearls, opt for the small version and use plenty of water to prevent them from sticking together. The ideal ratio is ten parts water to one part sago. The pearls should be added only to boiling water and never to room-temperature water as they would dissolve. Remove the pot from the heat and stir the pearls intermittently.
Once all the ingredients are ready, prepare the santan gravy, assemble the dessert, and tuck in.
Check the internet or cookbooks for a recipe that suits you.
Similarities among various desserts in Asia
The creative Penang Nyonyas likely adapted the traditional Malay dessert called pengat pisang, a banana broth in thick santan sauce, adding a variety of ingredients to create a more colourful and vibrant dish. Other Malay variations include pengat chempedak, pengat labu (pumpkin) and even pengat durian. Yet the final product is never as visually striking as the version developed by the Nyonyas. From this, they likely created bubur cha cha, removing the bananas and giving the dish its own identity.
Across Asia, bubur cha cha shares similarities with many regional desserts. These include ginatsang bilo bilo, sampelot, binignit and guinatan in the Philippines, naab vaam in Thailand, and taro and sweet potato ball desserts in Taiwan.
A closer look at the humble sweet potato
Do you know that sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) belonging to the root vegetable family is rich in Vitamins A, C, and D, as well as calcium and fibre?
The inventive Penang Nyonyas likely adapted the traditional Malay dessert pengat pisang, a banana broth in thick santan sauce, adding a variety of ingredients to create a more colourful and vibrant dish. Other Malay variations include pengat chempedak, pengat labu (pumpkin), and even pengat durian. Yet none are as visually striking as the version developed by the Nyonyas. From this adaptation, they likely created bubur cha cha, removing the bananas and giving the dish its own distinct identity.
Across Asia, bubur cha cha shares similarities with a number of regional desserts. These include ginatsang bilo bilo, sampelot, binignit, and guinatan in the Philippines, naab vaam in Thailand, and taro and sweet potato ball desserts in Taiwan.
Do you know that sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) belonging to the root vegetable family is rich in Vitamins A, C, and D, as well as calcium and fibre?
Regardless of how the sweet potato travelled or took root in Asia, it has found its way into the Penang Nyonya bubur cha cha and pengat, celebrated for their colourful presentation. Pengat, in particular, remains an auspicious dessert for the gods, symbolising abundance for the year ahead.
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Written and photographed by Adrian Cheah
© All rights reserved
31 January 2023
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Austin, D. F. 1988. The taxonomy, evolution and genetic diversity of sweet potatoes and related wild species. In P. Gregory (ed.) Exploration, Maintenance and Utilization of Sweet Potato Genetic Resources. CIP, Lima, Peru, pp. 27–60.
Yen, D. E. 1982. Sweet potato in historical perspective. In R. L. Villareal and T. D. Griggs (eds.) Sweet Potato: Proceedings of the First International Symposium. AVRDC, Tainan, Taiwan, pp. 17–30.