Congee (Rice Porridge)
Congee Recipes
Endless versions of savory rice porridge (also known as jook) exist worldwide. Grain porridge (usually rice) is made with 10 parts water to 1 part grain. It is the daily breakfast of champions for millions of Asian people. Feel free to add more garnishes like soy sauce, fish sauce, fried shallots, or roasted salted peanuts to spice up this dish. It makes a great base for herbal medicine.
Ginger Chicken Jook (Rice Porridge)
6 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1 1⁄2 pounds bone-in chicken legs or thighs, skin removed and trimmed of excess fat 1 cup long-grain white rice
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, skin on and sliced into 4 pieces 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
Pinch freshly ground white pepper, plus more as needed Coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
Place all ingredients except the cilantro and scallions in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook at a lively simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice has completely broken down and the mixture is creamy, about 1 hour. Turn off the heat and remove the chicken to a cutting board. When it’s cool enough to handle, shred the chicken into bite- sized pieces, discarding the cartilage and bones. Return the chicken shreds to the jook. Stir to combine, taste, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro and scallions.
Brown Rice and Gai Lan Jook (Rice Porridge) 8 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, skin on and sliced into 2 pieces
1 1⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
Pinch freshly ground white pepper, plus more as needed
4 ounces gai lan (also known as Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale, substitute any green vegetable), ends trimmed and very thinly sliced crosswise
Place all ingredients except the gai lan in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, uncovered, at a lively simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice has completely broken down and the mixture is creamy, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the heat, add the gai lan, and stir until combined and the leaves are wilted. Let sit until the residual heat cooks the gai lan stems to crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.
Peanut Onion Jook
1 cup short-grain rice
2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade, or water 1 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 1⁄4 pound slab bacon, optional
Soy sauce or salt to taste
1⁄4 cup crispy cooked bacon, minced, optional 1⁄4 cup minced scallions
1⁄2 cup roasted peanuts, optional
Sesame oil for drizzling, optional
Wash rice, and put it in a stock pot with chicken stock or water. Place over high heat until stock boils, then add about 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, and turn heat to low. Partly cover pot, simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary (probably about 2 cups more). Add ginger and slab bacon, and simmer for an hour more or so. Jook should have a porridgelike consistency. If it becomes very thick, add water. When done, jook will be soupy and creamy, like loose oatmeal. Remove slab bacon, and serve jook in individual bowls. Season with salt or soy sauce, then garnish with minced bacon, scallions and peanuts. Drizzle with sesame oil if desired.
Healing Congee (Jook)
1 cup uncooked organic white rice, any variety will do 20 cups water
1 cup mung beans
2 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients and cook on a low boil for an hour, stirring occasionally. You can add green onions, cooked egg, parsley, sesame seeds, hot sauce, tamari to your jook after it is done cooking.
For other variations on the basic recipe try adding different kinds of meat, chicken, beef or fish.
Medicinal tonic additions:
Shao yao (Chinese yam) Gou qi zi (“goji”) berries Chinese red date Ginseng root
Cold and Flu Congee
5 scallions, chopped
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 cup rice
10 cups water
First make congee by cooking rice in water. Mash up scallions and ginger and add to cooked congee and let cook for 10-20 more minutes. Bundle up, eat a bowl and rest. This congee will help you to sweat out the cold, stay warm.
Coughs Congee
1 bunch washed and chopped mustard greens 1 cup rice
10 cups water
Cook all ingredients together overnight in the Crockpot or on the stove top for 2-3 hours.
Warming Winter Jook
Lamb bone with marrow
1 cup millet
10 cups water
1 Tablespoon or more of fresh grated ginger 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups washed and chopped spinach
Cook first four ingredients overnight in Crockpot. Stir in spinach when ready. This is a great winter meal as it warms the kidneys, strengthens bones and tonifies blood. This is a great one to make with less water so that is more stew like.
Honeysuckle Jook
For cold or flu with secondary infections: bronchitis, pneumonia, dysentery, acute sore throat, eye inflammation This famous jook recipe clears heat and toxins, kills germs and disperses inflammation. It is useful for conditions secondary to cold and flu viruses like pneumonia or bronchitis. It also treats acute bacterial dysentery. Honeysuckle flowers (Flos lonicerae or jin yin hua) clear infections characterized by heat and inflammation, including acute swollen sore throat, abscesses and acute eye inflammation.
1⁄2 cup of dried honeysuckle flowers 2-3 cups of water
Simmer herbs in water 1/2 hour. Then, remove herb parts and stir the remaining liquid into your congee toward the end of cooking.
¾ cup/150 grams sushi rice
2 ½ quarts/2.5 liters chicken stock
Salt
Soy sauce, for serving
Thinly sliced spring onions or scallions, green parts only, for serving
Finely chopped fresh ginger, for serving
Sesame oil, for serving
Rinse and drain the rice.
Put the rice in a pot with the chicken stock and bring to boil. Give the rice a good stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, then lower the heat and half-cover the pan. Simmer gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until the grains have burst open and you have a thick congee. Keep an eye on the pot to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. Toward the end of cooking, when the stock has become integrated with the rice and is the consistency of oatmeal, season lightly with salt to taste.
Serve the congee with a sprinkling of soy sauce, spring onion and ginger and a few drops of sesame oil to taste.
INGREDIENTS
1 turkey carcass, with some meat and skin
4 quarts cold water
1 cup brown jasmine rice
½ cup short-grain white rice
4 slices peeled fresh ginger, smashed
3 stalks scallions
1½ teaspoons sea salt
Toppings:
soy sauce
scallions, thinly sliced
lap cheong, thinly sliced and pan fried
fried shallots (see notes)
pickled cucumbers in soy sauce
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Remove excess skin from the turkey carcass but leave on any browned, crispy pieces for additional flavor. Break carcass in half and place in a large stock pot. Add cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Add the rice to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the ginger and scallions. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2½ hours, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching as the jook thickens.
Remove the carcass and skin from the jook. Remove the meat from the bones, shred any large pieces into bite-size morsels and return them to the pot. Discard the bones and skin.
Add the salt and simmer for 15 minutes or until the jook reaches desired consistency.
Serve with toppings of choice.
NOTES
An easy way to make "fried" shallots is to microwave them. Peel and thinly slice 1-2 shallots. Put the sliced shallots in a small microwavable bowl and add enough vegetable oil to almost cover them. Microwave for 1 minute. Microwave for an additional 1-2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds. When the shallots are golden brown, transfer them to a paper-lined platter to drain.
INGREDIENTS
Congee
1/4 cup dried shrimp
2 tablespoons dried scallops
2 tablespoons safflower oil (olive oil works, too)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/4-inch thickness
1 cup jasmine rice
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt, add more to taste
To Serve
sliced scallions
fried shallots
fried dough sticks (油條/油炸鬼)
chili oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Rinse the dried shrimp and dried scallops with water. Then, place them in a bowl and soak with 2/3 cup of water for 30 minutes. The shrimp and scallops should have plumped up a little. You can drain the water once you’re done soaking or save it. I usually save the water and use it to cook the porridge.
Rinse the rice with 2 changes of water. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the minced ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until they start to become fragrant. Add the rehydrated shrimp and scallops to the pot. Use the tip of a wooden spoon or spatula to break the scallops apart. This does not need to be too precise. Add the mushrooms and rice, and sauté for another minute.
Carefully pour the broth and water into the pot. Sprinkle in the salt and stir. Bring the broth to a boil, uncovered. Then, turn the heat to low and cover the pot. I usually transfer the pot to a smaller burner so the congee cooks at very low heat. Let the congee simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
After an hour, check the congee to see if the consistency is to your liking. I like to leave the pot uncovered for 15 minutes so that the porridge cools and thickens. If you notice a small film form on the top of the congee, just stir everything before serving. Taste the congee and add more salt if necessary.
Serve the congee in bowls. Have sliced scallions, fried shallots, chili oil, and sliced fried dough sticks on the side for topping.
