Rice is such a comfort food, in any form. While I love a bowl of traditional congee (vegetarian style), in this house we play free and loose with flavourings and toppings.
For us, congee conjours up wintery days and long slow cooking of rice, beans, lentils and/or grains on the stove top. They can be cooked slowly in the oven also – image an overnight slow slow cooked congee ready for breakfast when you finally emerge from the doona. One of the delights of Winter is congee.
One winter after shifting into this house we didn't have adequate heating for Winter. Boy it was cold, and mostly I spent time in the kitchen. It was the one place that was reliably warm (something was always cooking and the oven was on a lot). I cooked SO MUCH congee that winter.
Jook is another name for congee. I've read that jook means “arrow.” A warm satisfying bowl of congee sure goes straight to the heart. When cooked, congee is usually soupy, a little runny, not thick enough to hold a spoon. But there’s no standard for consistency, so it’s perfect when it’s as you like it. It will thicken on standing, but can be thinned with some water or stock.
Congee is perfect for breakfast, if you can get up early enough to cook it. Or cook in a low oven overnight. But it also goes down well at any time of the day, especially a cold Winter’s day. I like it best cooked in a Chinese clay pot – it makes a difference and I keep one just for congee.
There are also "quick congee" methods using left-over rice. Honestly, they are very good too. But the style that has my heart is the slow-cooked version.
