Weny wasn’t feeling well the other day, and I decided to make her congee after she said, “Ray, make me congee”. I was never a huge congee fan growing up. My mom usually made it on Saturday mornings before Chinese school. Perhaps my dislike of congee stemmed from my negative associations of having to sacrifice Saturday morning cartoons for learning Chinese. I always thought of it as Chinese oatmeal (bland). It’s basically rice that is boiled far beyond its typical preparation into a porridge form and topped with an assortment of toppings and garnishes. Weny loves it. I’ve grown to tolerate it. In order to impart extra flavor. I cooked mine in a homemade chicken and pork stock, but store-bought stock is convenient to use as well. I also used brown rice and cooked it a little less than usual so that there was still a little texture to the rice. You can easily adjust the amount of liquid and time you cook to your desired consistency. Top it with your favorite savory ingredients and balance it with something salty, sour, crunchy, etc.
Main Ingredients
5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked 20 minutes, sliced (save soaking liquid)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, minced
2 cups brown short grain rice, rinsed
2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
10 cups stock or water
Salt
White Pepper
Kitchen Tools
Optional Toppings
12 oz salmon, skinned, cubed half inch
Bok choy leaves separated
Peanuts, toasted
Boiled egg
Pickled daikon and carrots
Scallions, sliced
Ginger, julienned
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Instructions
1. Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes.
2. Mince garlic and ginger.
3. Rinse brown rice with cold water, drain through a fine-mesh colander, and repeat 2-3 times.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a 6-quart heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven. Sauté garlic and ginger in oil until fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until fragrant.
5. Add brown rice and sauté until coated.
6. Add mushroom soaking liquid, stock or water and bring to a boil. Lower temperature to low and cook at a simmer covered for 1 hour. Stir every 10 minutes or so to prevent sticking.
8. While congee is cooking, prepare toppings of your choice. I cut salmon, washed the bok choy, toasted peanuts, sliced ginger, and scallions.
9. After 1 hour of cooking, check to see the consistency of rice. Add additional stock or water if needed towards the consistency you like. Begin to add the desired seasoning. I simply added salt and white pepper. Later on, we added sesame oil soy sauce and fish sauce in each individual serving.
10. Cook an additional 30 minutes with your seasonings and adjust consistency to your preference and taste. Finish preparing your toppings. I boiled an egg 6 minutes and 30 seconds to get a perfectly runny yolk, washed and cut bok choy, ginger, and scallions. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, I added bok choy and salmon in the last 10 minutes to steam on top of the congee.
11. Once congee is cooked to your liking begin assembling your bowl. I began with the congee and then added the bok choy, salmon, sliced egg, pickled daikon and carrots, sliced scallions, toasted peanuts, and sliced ginger. If you end up making this, let me know how yours turned out and what your toppings you used!
Ramen eggs always clutch
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