Chinese Rice Porridge
The Ultimate Comfort Food

Someone who visited my website once wrote me asking me about a recipe for a thick soup made from rice and minced pork. It took me a while to realise that he meant the chinese rice porridge.

I guess I am so familiar with chinese rice porridge as a rice dish that it never occur to me that others might treat it as a thick soup. And why not. I have tasted thick soups in Melbourne made from lentil and pumpkin that had the same texture and consistency.

So, is the chinese rice porridge a chinese soup?

It does not really matter, does it? The cantonese congee or jook resemble a thick soup. The teochew fish porridge can be described as a thin rice soup.

I do have to say that chinese rice porridge, jook, congee, chinese rice soup ... they are actually names of a wide variety of food made from rice cooked in water or stock.

Jook is derived from the cantonese dialect. The same name is pronounced "zhou" in mandarin.

Congee came from the Indian language because the Indians have a similar rice dish called congi except, I think, it is sweet and grainer. The British went to India first and encountered Congi before they arrive in China and met Jook. Hence the English name "Congee".

So if you come across these names especially in Asia, it is safe to assume that they mean basically the same thing...although they may taste and look different.

Erm, complicated right?

Rice porridge culture

The Chinese rice porridge is a very forgiving dish. It doesn't matter if you are a great cook or a rookie. It is a wonderful chinese food. Have it sweet or savoury, thick or thin, luxurious or simple. It is up to you.

The chinese rice porridge has such a long history of use as dietary therapy that it is even in the chinese collective memory. When we are sick, we drink chinese rice porridge, period. One day, I caught myself offering to buy some hot rice porridge for a colleague when she wasn't feeling well. It is really the first thing that come to mind.

Chinese rice porridge used to be for the poor, it was served in times of drought and famine where food are hard to come by. It was also served during funerals because it is simple and plain and suits times of grief and mourning.

Now, it has become a popular breakfast food for the southern chinese. Whether it is plain rice porridge with fried dough "you tiao" or a huge bowl of Cantonese jook with fresh seafood. It doesn't matter. We just like to start our day off with a nice hot bowl of rice porridge.

There are so many ways to eat chinese rice porridge. It is common to cook some plain rice porridge and whipped a few small dishes to go with it. Or, it can be a one-meal porridge. Just "dump" all the ingredients together and splash some soya sauce, sesame seed oil and pepper.

What's so good about rice porridge?

Many chinese mothers would make chinese rice porridge and add all kinds of wonderful and nourishing ingredients for their babies, young children, and family members who are sick or are elderly.

1. Great Baby Food

In Singapore, chinese rice porridge is one of the first semi-solid food babies eat after milk. Yummy ingredients like mashed carrots, white fish, finely chopped green leafy vegetables are added to increase the nutritious value of the porridge. I have yet to meet a baby that doesn't like rice porridge.

2. Recuperating Food

People who are ill or are recovering from an illness usually have poor appetite. Taking nourishing chinese rice porridge should help to improve appetite and provide needed nutrients.

3. Anti-Diarrhoea Food

If you have diarrhoea and vomiting, you should try taking some plain chinese rice porridge. It will holds down better, eases the diarrhoea and replenish lost fluids. I will always make some nice hot rice porridge when I have diarrhoea.

How to make rice porridge at home?

Chinese rice porridge is so easy to make at home, especially if you use a rice cooker or slow cooker. There are only 2 basic ingredients: rice and water.

The ratio of water to rice as well as the brokenness of the rice grain determine the consistency of the porridge.

About 1 cup rice to 12 cups water and 70% brokenness is for medium consistency. Add more water if you want a thinner consistency. I personally prefer medium to thin consistency. Remember to wash the rice thoroughly to remove the starch.

Granny says,
Don't throw the water used to wash the rice! Water your plants with it. N156B6-L0A REPLACEMENT LAPTOP LCD SCREEN . webbouwer

You can choose to cook rice porridge in the following ways:

1. Over the stove top

Using a deep thick-based pot, boil the water and add uncooked rice grains in. Bring to a boil again before lowering the heat to a simmer. Maintain the bubbling, and stir continuously to prevent the rice from sticking together or to the pot. Rice grains, being much heavier than water, will inadvertently settle to the bottom, stick to the pot and burn.

2. Over the stove top but using cooked rice

Many people cook rice porridge for breakfast because they had leftover white rice for dinner the day before. It cuts the cooking time by half. It also means 50% less stirring work. It will not taste as fresh as freshly made rice porridge.

There is a chinese saying about each grain of rice represents one year of hard work. So, we get very guilty throwing away rice. So, if you find yourself with a big pot of white rice and is feeling guilty about throwing it, try making rice porridge with it.

3. Using a rice cooker

Many people do not know that they can use a rice cooker to cook rice porridge, especially if yours is a no-nonsense rice cooker, not the Japanese fuzzy logic, all-in-ones.

Granny says,
Check whether your rice cooker is already bubbling at the side of the cover when you cook white rice. If it does, it means you must reduce the amount of rice porridge you are making. It may boil over because you need a lot more water to cook rice porridge.

Add the ratio of water to rice for desired consistency. It's so easy. Place the water and rice into the pot together. Close the cover, press the COOK button and go for a shower, or read a book, or watch TV. When the button pops up, the rice porridge is done.

The Japanese fuzzy logic rice cookers are on my wishlist. My granny looked at them with suspicion. One day, one day I will convince her. If you are looking to buy a rice cooker, check them out.

4. Using a slow cooker

If you have a slow cooker rather than a rice cooker, it can be used to cook rice porridge too. To reduce cooking time, use hot water.

5. Using a thermal cooking pot

Use boiling water and cooked rice when using a thermal cooking pot to make chinese rice porridge. Use the inner pot to boil the water, add the cooked rice, bring back to a boil. Place inner pot into the outer casing. Close the lid. It shouldn't take more than 40 minutes. The benefit of using the thermal cooking pot is that the rice porridge won't burnt.

Check out my recipes for rice porridge

Chicken congee recipes
Pork congee recipes
Vegetarian congee recipes

Chinese Rice Porridge The Ultimate Comfort Food