For me, there is something incredibly comforting about a steaming bowl of congee with toppings like soy sauce and peanuts. It stirs up memories of my childhood and how I grew up eating congee. Whenever I was sick with a flu or sore throat, congee would be served to me with all the love that went into it. I do have a long history with congee.
I like my congee well done, with the rice broken down into mush but not totally mashed up. Still having a bit of rice texture. It can't be totally starch. And I like the congee to be cooked with ginger. It's so yum with ginger!
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| With toppings of egg, coriander and peanuts. Fried long beans in background |
Usually my mom will cook side dishes to go with the congee. Like salted egg, "chai po" omelet, fried shallots, long beans and fried salted fish. I love salted fish. It is amazing with congee. Sadly I can't eat it anymore as a vegan. Or it will be a rare treat. Other toppings include peanuts, soy sauce and spring onions.
I made congee yesterday for me and my dad. It turned out really nice and I'm glad it was a success. Basically I cooked a 2 people people portion with half a cup of rice. It took forever to get it to the consistency I liked. I kept having to add more water and kept stirring hoping it would break down to mush. It was normal grain rice, but still took forever.
I also cooked a side dish of fried sliced long beans! I basically sliced the long beans finely and fried it with garlic. It goes well with the congee. I added a boiled egg as well for my dad, as we didn't have salted egg.
I made the congee with ginger, a bit of chicken stock, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Below is the recipe. Enjoy!
Basic Congee
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked rice
- 5 cups water
- 1/2 tsp chicken stock granules
- salt and white pepper to taste
- a few slices of ginger
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Method
- Slice the ginger across into thin slices.
- Bring the water to a boil
- Add in the chicken stock, ginger and rice.
- Let the congee simmer, stirring often, for 15-20mins or until reached the desired consistency. Add more water as needed.
- Add salt, pepper and sesame oil to taste.
- Add toppings of choice like peanuts, coriander or spring onion, and soy sauce.
Labels: dinner, home cooking, meals, recipe, vegetarian
