I was sick with a bad cold over the weekend and although I was raised a WASP in midwestern USA, when I’m down for the count I usually cook up a big pot of congee, perhaps one of the most ubiquitous of all Asian foods.
In my experience, there’s nothing simpler and more comforting than congee, which is basically rice cooked with a lot of liquid until it forms a soft and creamy porridge. There are as many recipes and methods for making congee as there are mothers and grandmothers to make them, but here are the basics.
Congee is the Chinese name for rice porridge but it is also known as okayu in Japan, juk in Korea, and jok in Thailand to name but a few. While they each have their own unique variations, they all begin with rice and a liquid, usually water and perhaps a little salt. From that basic start, a mosaic of marvelous of flavors and textures can be added, such as kimchi and salted fish (Korea), or pork with fried garlic and scallions (Philippines.) Congee can even be sweetened with sugar and served with fruit, such as pears or apples.
Another favorite variation is to make congee with chicken or turkey wings and ginger. The wings are removed when they are done cooking, the meat shredded and returned to the pot which is garnished with slivered green onions.
While congee is usually made on the stovetop, it can also be made in a slow cooker or rice cooker. Indeed, many rice cookers have a congee setting, which means you can start your congee the night before and wake up the next morning to an already cooked, comforting breakfast.
Because the addition of extra water can stretch a simple cup of rice to serve a whole family, congee is considered a frugal dish. These days, no matter where you're from or what your economic situation, stretching your food dollars is kitchen wisdom indeed.
But most interesting of all, congee is almost a form of language, a conveyor of memory, culture and identity. Like all good foods, it nourishes more than just the belly.
Please share with us your congee memories and recipes!
Basic Congee
serves 6
1 cup long grain white rice
9 cups water or stock (chicken or fish)
Salt to taste
In a heavy pot, bring the rice, liquid and optional salt to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and cover loosely with a lid. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the rice is thoroughly cooked and the porridge has become thick and creamy, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve up hot with the condiments of your choice or plain, just as it is, for a comforting, simple meal.
(Images: Dana)
I love you for this!
When I was sick with Mono in high school I lived on "mushy rice" for a month.
I had no idea it was a proper dish :-)
view kari-anne's profile
Mmm. There is this small juk restaurant on Wilshire that I enjoy. It's a bit pricy, but their bachan - this shredded dried beef and plum tea - is small but delicious. Now i want bonjuk!
view chusmabilly's profile
Filpnos call this arrozcaldo, a chicken and rice thick soup. It includes onions, garlic and ginger and has lemon and toasted garlic (clears those sinuses for sure!) as an option additional topping. The chicken left on the bone is a little tastier (but messy).
Your recipe is a little different than what I am used to. I was taught to use short grain rice and the proportions were 3 cups liquid to one cup rice, with additional liquid to add at the end if you want it soupier. I usually use a 50/50 proportion of chicken broth and water for extra flavor.
view jgphotomom's profile
My dad used to make a chocolate variation on this dish. He simply added cocoa powder and vanilla to the rice as it was cooking. The the cocoa would bring out the natural sweetness of the rice. It was great with toasted sliced almonds on top.
It's a traditional Filipino dish usually served for breakfast. I'm not sure what it is called.
view Comicgeek's profile
I like to make mine with dried shrimp, shiitakes, chinese sausage and scallion to make a sort of liquid version of dim sum sticky rice, but it's good with just a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil too.
view BillJ's profile
I like this when I'm sick - especially if there's a lot of pepper and sliced ginger in it. I've found that I like most variants, but congee with '100 year old egg' or '1000 year old egg' or any other variant of translucent gelatinous sulfur egg - no thanks. I'd prefer to stay sick.
view Plaid Ninja's profile
I grew up eating something similar made with rice, milk, cinnamon, and (maybe) cardamom. Mom calls it rice velling - which I think comes from the Swedish side of our family. It makes a nice simple Saturday evening meal, especially topped with raisins and cinnamon-sugar.
view jenbut's profile
A kind roommate made me congee when I was laid up with a bout of strep throat. He came to my room with a steaming bowl topped with scallions, dehydrated pork threads (like jerky, only pulled apart to make fluffy filaments) and a generous amount of white pepper.
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
I love congee! I'm Chinese so I grew up on this. My favorite is with slivers of pork and preserved egg. When my children were babies, I would make batches of congee for them and would add anything to it.
view mstina's profile
I'm vietnamese, so I use fish sauce instead on salt. Also, it's served with dried shredded pork when I'm sick or organ meats, which is the way my mom makes it. I think you can put pretty much anything with it.
I only cook my rice for 45 minutes, cut i prefer it to be a little more soupy than mushy.
view Kim's profile
The Japanese version (okayu) is usually cooked very plain (just seasoned with salt) and served with umeboshi (small pickled plums). Not something I'm interested in eating every day, or even when I have a cold, but nothing beats it for an upset stomach. Follow it up with ginger-lemon tea and you will be restored. Or at least reasonably nourished/hydrated.
view cmcinnyc's profile
I tried Jook once. Not a fan. I can't get past the texture. *shudder*
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
I'm so sad I can't eat rice :-(
view mschatelaine's profile
I like mine with beef and lots of ginger. :)
view Kaete's profile
i heart rice porridge! growing up in a taiwanese family, my mom and grandma would make theirs with sweet potatoes or yams. my favorite side to eat with porridge is spicy fermented bean curd, which i learned to eat in small nibbles to cut through the blandness of the rice. other good sides are salted preserved duck egg, deep fried peanuts, and pickled bamboo shoots in chili oil.
view stink's profile
the plain filipino 'congee' i know is lugaw, although i do like my aunt's arroz caldo and have yet to attempt it myself.
comicgeek - you're referring to tsampurado/champurado. it's good with evaporated milk, sugar, and tuyo [dried fish]
view rmx's profile
Oooh. I love congee. I make mine with brown rice and sweet potatoes though. Topped with fried garlic chips, cilantro, and sriracha this is some seriously yummy food. Indeed, reading this inspired me to whip up a batch of my own to keep me warm on this cold Berkeley day. Thanks!
view FalafelMama's profile
Turkey congee is a great post-Thanksgiving treat! Maybe this is too fusion for the purists, but when I'm sick, I like to cook my congee with dried mushrooms and then stir in a big spoonful of miso at the end (you're not supposed to boil the miso, I've been told) -- makes it salty in just the right ways, kinda like the spicy fermented bean curd mentioned above. Ymmmmmmmm ... almost makes me wish I had a cold.
I also like it plain with just scallions and white pepper.
view schong's profile
My mother calls hers "jok" (long o) and her extended family spoke Cantonese. I'm used to it being chicken based, with water chestnuts, peas, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. I've also made it vegetarian and it's still good.
view happify's profile