Congee anyone

In 1998 we closed the books on the death of my Mother in Law and had a little cash. We could either build a second bathroom or do some memorable. We chose to take nearly 6 weeks and travel to Southeast Asia.

To us (the travel agent and the pilot) it seemed so logical. Show our young (9 and 11) children the world, especially Laos where Michael spent 1969-72. Oddly enough people thought we were crazy and perhaps even derelict in our parental duties...keeping our children safe. "What about the water?", they asked. "And the food?" "And all those diseases?" "Something could go wrong!"

Well, it didn't and we are here to prove it. In fact, it possibly was the most defining part of their lives. Hardly a day goes by without some reference to those weeks, and the experiences they had. I would highly recommend a major trip to anyone with children.

But of course, I digress. My back-story is just to emphasize that you will never know what you bring home from a journey. And we brought home Congee, or at least our version of it!

Congee (or jook) is a a breakfast staple all over Asia. It is different in each country, yet has that level of comfort food that is so important. I believe that each and every time we make it it is different. And mine is different from Michael's and definitely not a bit like Gregory's.

Congee can be made with leftover rice, brown rice, sticky rice, a combination of grains, with chicken broth, vegetable broth, plain water, or even Pho base. It can be thin with few grains of rice or thick like porrage or oatmeal. And sometimes, when in my gusto to get left-overs out of the fridge, it can be so thick that it no longer is soup, at all!

So I will do my best to give you a recipe. Then you are on your own. Because to me the best part of Congee is that it is always different, but always delicious.

Basic Congee

In large heavy pot combine

6 cups water
1 cup rice, rinsed (I use what I have; brown, Basmati, short grain, long grain, what ever combination you like)
2-3 Tbsp. chicken broth (Better-Than-Bouillon)

Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer until rice is really cooked, usually about 40 minutes. The type of rice used will make a difference here. You may also use left-over cooked rice, which will speed up the process considerably. 3-4 cups cooked rice for the 1 cup raw.

And here is where you may get creative. I add various seasonings to the broth-porrage. Sometimes, some Trader Joe's 21 Salute. Sometimes some chopped Cilantro. Diced green onions or yellow onion, or both. A Tablespoon or two. I may throw in some shelled Edemame. Or a handful of oats. Perhaps some Fish Sauce. Play around with what you have available and have fun.

Garnishes:

A scrambled egg, cooked into an omelet then sliced and put on top on the bowl of soup. Some dried garlic, seaweed, Pork Fu, More Cilantro, green onion, Chicken Sauce, various chili powders. When we have leftover chicken or beef I will shred or dice it and add the the top. Since this is breakfast, the most important meal of the day, and frequently has to get me through to 3 in the afternoon, I really love to add a lot of toppings.

It is clear that I will need to get the photographer to take some shots when I prepare this again. And some photos of the various Asian goodies in our pantry.

I believe that there are as many variations on Congee as there are Asians in Southeast Asia. So play with the flavors and make what you enjoy.