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There aren’t a lot of dishes more suited for a cozy winter night than congee. Though congee generally starts from the same base of rice and broth, the incredibly delicious soup is highly customizable and can incorporate a variety of ingredients.
Not sure where to start? Here are 10 easy congee recipes (and a few international relatives of the dish) to keep you warm all winter long.
Congee is a rice porridge commonly eaten throughout Asia. There are variations of this classic comfort food all across the continent, with ingredients ranging from chicken bouillon and pork belly to seasonal veggies and herbs.
This is a humble dish, often made from leftover ingredients, and it doesn’t matter whether you use short grain brown rice, jasmine rice, or frozen rice. Leftover meat and veggies are welcome, too. You can cook congee in just about anything, be it an Instant Pot, a high pressure cooker, or just a big stock pot.
Typical white rice congee is incredibly easy to make. For a basic congee, add rice to some chicken stock, salt, and ginger. Simmer it until it’s thick, then add some sesame oil, green onions, chili crisp, and whatever else you’re craving. As long as you’ve got the right rice to liquid ratio, you’re good to go.
Recipe: Food & Wine
Though congee usually comes from chicken stock, pork broth works just as well. Finished with a big pulled pork barbecue? Make a stock out of the bones and some boiling water. Congee makes quite the day-after-Thanksgiving meal, too.
Recipe:The Woks of Life
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Here’s a titan of leftover usage. Toss every bit of that leftover rotisserie chicken into your congee. And yep, if you want to make the stock from scratch using the bones, you sure can.
Recipe:Roti & Rice
Congee is basically porridge, which is basically oatmeal, so you can argue that congee is already a breakfast food. If you want to make it even more like breakfast, go for this awesome bacon and eggs variation.
Recipe:Food & Wine
Related: 20 Cheap and Easy Ways to Use Rice
A soft boiled egg works in just about every congee recipe, but it doesn’t always have to be breakfast-focused. Some crispy shallots, ginger, and hot sauce can go a very long way to build a flavor profile.
Recipe: Sprinkles and Sprouts
Dried scallops are among the most common stars of seafood congee, but as you hopefully know by now, you can’t go wrong with anything. Oysters, mussels, shrimp, and fish all work beautifully in this dish.
Recipe:Omnivore’s Cookbook
For a Filipino take on congee, try arroz caldo. This dish highlights lots of chicken and ginger, and though it’s commonly eaten in the Philippines as a snack, it still makes for a perfect meal.
Recipe:Allrecipes
Fish sauce and long grain rice are the crucial differences between other congee and borbor sach moan, a Cambodian-style rice porridge also known as babaw.
Recipe:Grantourismo Travels
Chicken thighs and lots of sesame oil help this type of congee feel distinctly Korean. A little bit of kimchi for some tasty crunch in there will probably go a long way, too.
Recipe:Serious Eats
The typical Thai flavor package of lemongrass, fish sauce, lime juice, and spicy chilies work wonders in congee. The more aromatics you top this with, like cilantro and coriander, the better.
Recipe:Thai Cookbook TV