How To Make Congee

Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian cultures. It is seen as a therapeutic meal to help strengthen digestion, increase energy,  and aid in recovery from illness, surgery, or childbirth. 

Congees can be made sweeter for breakfast or savory for lunch or dinner. It just depends on the ingredients you use.

Basic Congee Preparation

• Put 1/2 cup organic rice in a slow cooker with 3 cups water (amount of liquid may change based on preference. More liquid will make a soupier congee, less will make it thicker like an oat porridge)

• Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours depending on how much liquid you use

• The liquid can be water for a very plain congee, milk or alternative milk (hemp, coconut, almond milk) for a sweet rice pudding type of congee, or you can use vegetable or chicken stock for a savory congee. You may also prefer to use a ½ water ½ milk /stock mixture depending on your taste preferences. 

Breakfast Congee

This you can put in your slow cooker before bed and wake up to it first thing in the morning. Add any healthful ingredients such as the following:

• Butter

• Local honey

• Slivered almonds

• Dried fruit

• Granola

• Flax oil

• Chia seeds

• Walnuts

• Goji berries

• Cinnamon

• Cardomom

Savory Congee

If you don't use a slow cooker, you can also make it over the stove. Add some of the following ingredients during or after cooking:

• Meat on the bone (for example chicken pieces or pork bones) to cook through and add flavor

• Garlic

• Scallion (green part)

• Soft boiled egg

• Shiitake mushroom

• Ginger

• Black sesame