Congee recipe

Congee is to the Chinese as soup is to the British.
Congee is the Chinese as fries are to the American!

Congee is a type of thick rice porridge largely disintegrated after prolonged cooking in water that is popular in many Asian countries eaten as either breakfast or  a light meal.  It is the 'go to' meal when a person is ill bringing instant comfort, relief and sustenance.  It's what British Born Chinese grew up on and crave and what we've been eating a lot of our house as my mum has chemo.  My mum hasn't been able to cook whilst having chemotherapy so she's taken the opportunity to teach me and boy! have I perfected the recipe now.  So here it is, give it a try, I guarantee you will love it:

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 200g white jasmine rice 
  • 1.5 litres water
  • Raw peanuts (not roasted)
  • Chicken strips
  • Tablespoon of Ginger
1.  Put 200g of white rice into a saucepan (100g per person) and wash the rice, draining away the starch.  I tend to rinse it 3 times.  

2.  Add peanuts into the saucepan adn cover the rice and peanuts with 1.5 litres of cold water.  If you don't like peanuts then this can be omitted.  Finely chop a tablespoon of giner and add to the saucepan with the peanuts.



4.  Bring to the boil and simmer on a medium heat.  Once boiled, add chicken strips.  Note that if you don't like chicken you can add minced pork.  If you are vegetarian, no meat needs o be added at all which we occasionally do if we want just a plain congee.

5.  Keep stirring occasionally.  You will feel the rice become thick at the bottom of the pan at which point you need to keep mixing.  After approximately 15-20 mins, the congee will thicken and look like the picture below.



6.  Switch the heat off and allow the congee to stand for 10 minutes.  This will encourage the grains to become more fluffy.

7.  Serve.  Sprinkle with pepper or soy sauce if additional flavouring is required.



This is a classic Chinese dish eaten in most Chinese homes and is delicious.  Have you eaten congee before?  If you use the recipe then please tag me with a photo on Twitter @CancerCarerChat as I would love to see it!

Mx



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