Congee Recipe (Chinese Rice Porridge)
This recipe uses glutinous rice and a combination of water with chicken broth. You may substitute with jasmine rice or other medium-grain white rice.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice (see notes)
- 6 cups water
- 6 cups low-sodium broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
- Salt to taste
- 6 green onions thinly sliced, to garnish
- Fresh ginger julienned, to garnish
- Sesame oil and soy sauce to garnish
Instructions
- Transfer rice to a large bowl and fill with cold water. Soak for 1 hour then drain and rinse thoroughly.
- Transfer the rice to a large pot. Fill with 12 cups of cooking liquid (water, chicken broth, veggie broth, beef broth, or some combination of each). Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer gently, stirring every 10-20 minutes to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of your pot.
- After approximately 60-90 minutes, uncover and allow the congee to cook for an additional 15 minutes or so. Season with salt, to taste, and decide if the consistency is to your liking. Add additional liquid to thin, or continue to cook, uncovered, until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve congee in bowls garnished with fresh green onions, fresh ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce, if desired.
Notes
What type of rice should you use? The type of rice will vary from one cook to another. In general, rice types you want to avoid include basmati rice, sweet sticky rice, or brown rice (unless you have extra time to let it cook). Here I used glutinous rice (often labeled sushi rice here in the US), but medium-grain Calrose rice or even jasmine rice will work. Note: if you plan to use longer-grain rice like jasmine, you will not need as much water or broth (approximately 2/3 of what is called for in the recipe).
I chose to cook my congee using a mixture of water and homemade chicken stock. Feel free to use your favorite store-bought chicken, beef, or vegetable broth, if preferred. Also, note that there is no precise liquid measurement for congee. Instead, use 12 cups as a starting point and add additional liquid as needed.
This is congee at its most basic level. Feel free to sauté a mixture of onion, garlic, and ginger before adding and cooking the rice. Have fun with different garnishes including those already mentioned and,
- Shredded chicken
- Fried shallots, scallions, garlic
- Pepper
- Eggs
- Cooked fish
Nutrition
Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 260mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
