PLAIN CONGEE - Recipe

Recipe Used: http://www.noobcook.com/how-to-cook-porridgecongee-step-by-step-photos/

PLAIN CONGEE has always been used in my house at times of discomfort or sicknesses. A simple dish made from simmering water with rice grains until you get a smooth soupy rice dish. It is suitable when you have a cold or flu and most things are not fit for your appetite in that it causes irritation in your throat. Other times you just don't have much appetite and don't feel like solid food. 

In times of bad tummy situations such as diarrhea, upset tummies this is usually also a very good plain meal that to start off with to ease yourself back into normal food. However, it is not recommended if you have something like stomach flu where a doctor requires you to only take sips of sports drinks diluted, and not eat any food at all. But all in all, it is a very good comfort food and handy if rice is always in the house. I learn it because I want to use it to take care of anyone that needs a comforting meal when they are sick :)

Choose Rice Grains: 

I personally only have sushi rice at home, since those are what we use for cooking normal rice. Any rice should work fine to make congee so long as you put in the right ratio of water. I have tried using long grain rice suggested in the recipe above, and the congee does taste more smooth compared to using sushi rice. You can always experiment and see what you prefer.

Wash Rice Grains: 

In a clean bowl or the pot you are using, pour the chosen amount of rice in (in this case I have used a small pot, with maybe around 1/4 cup or so of rice grains) and add generous amount of water and swirl, lightly rub and wash the rice grains and then discard water. Repeat process a few times until water is either almost clear or completely clear. Finally discard the water again, leaving the washed rice grains in the pot.

Fill Pot With Water:

I usually use around the ratio of 7~8 times the amount of rice for the water. As you can see here the grains are about 1 cm up from the bottom of the pot, and I filled around 3/4 of the pot with water. I would use just a little bit less than this since mine was a bit more soupy than it should be. Don't worry too much about the water since congee is very forgiving, if you realize when your cooking that there is not enough water, you can simply add some hot water into the pot. If there is too much, you can scoop some out into the sink, or if it's just a little bit more than the amount needed, you can wait for the congee to be cooked, and leave the congee for maybe 15 minutes for the rice grains to soak up the excess water. 

Boil The Water With Rice:

Put on the lid, turn stove onto medium-high heat until boil. Be very careful and keep a close watch, if it boils too much congee will overflow your pot and make a huge mess of your kitchen stove! Stir once in a while to make sure the grains do not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once it starts bubbling up more obviously after it boils, remove the lid of the pot, and immediately turn the stove down to small heat. 

Simmering:

Cover half of the pot with the lid (this is to prevent the congee from seeping out of your pot), and let simmer over small heat for 20-35 minutes. May vary a little bit depending on the strength of your stove. Remember to stir the congee with a ladle once every 10 minutes or so.

Consistency:

20 Minutes Simmer- Gives you a congee with visible rice grains.
30 Minutes Simmer - The rice grains separate, and this is the consistency I prefer. Simmer longer and you will get a finer and smoother congee. You can always simmer longer than 30 minutes and use ladle to bring up some rice grains to check the consistency.







The soup is usually light opaque and still relatively clear when you simmer for around 20 minutes. The rice grains are also relatively obvious.





Once you hit 30-35 minutes or so of simmering, the soup becomes more white than opaque and rice grains separate. This image of the congee here was left for a good 15-20 minutes to soak up some excess water. You can even leave a bit longer if you wanted.

Reheating & Storage:

Any left-over congee can be put in a bowl covered with glad wrap, and stored in the refrigerator. If you are having it all day then you can just leave it sitting over the closed stove or on the counter, preferably with a lid for sake of hygiene. You will notice congee when left for a long time, the water will be all soaked up by the rice grains, much like what noodles do with soup. All you have to do to reheat and serve the congee, is simply adding small amount of hot water, stirring them apart and then just heating it over the stove over low-medium heat until it's hot again.

Side Dishes To Go With Plain Congee:

There are many suitable side dishes to go with plain congee that are readily available at asian markets in cans, bottles and jars. Some of the most common side dishes that our family prepares with congee are:

- Pickled Cucumber Slices (Comes in both Spicy/Original) - Usually come in jars, also have full length cucumber ones.
- Gluten (Some come with peanuts) - Usually come in small cans like tuna cans.
- Dried Pork Floss (There are fish kind of floss too) - These I think have to be bought from specified places.
- Pickled Bamboo Shoots - Usually cut into thin slices, also come in jars - sometimes cans.
- Bean Curd - Think they do come in both Spicy/Original but spicy ones are more common. Spicy one is obviously not recommended if you're cooking for someone sick with a sore throat.
- Salted Duck Eggs - Not sure where you can buy them here in Australia, usually have them at home in Taiwan.


NOTE for serving side-dish:

The jars with pickled food need to be only served by clean utensils or chopsticks, otherwise other material getting into the liquid may cause it to go moldy or turn bad. In other words, you can use a pair of clean chopsticks to serve the pickled cucumbers, and continue to serve with it unless it touches anything other food. So don't eat your congee and grab pickled cucumbers with the same utensil haha~


Congee Variations:

There are many variations of congee, with different ingredients added into the plain congee. Obviously depending on the kind of ingredient you want to add, cooking procedure and timing may have relevant changes to a certain degree. Two of the variations from my home are 'Egg Soup Congee' & 'Sweet Potato Congee'. The recipe for those will be coming very soon. You can always look around for various combinations of ingredients, and if you have had some congee at places like Yum Cha, you will now there are many savory types of congee. You can always think of something you want to add, and then search the net to see check if anyone has added it before and if it suits :)