Chef Mike helps us through uncertain times with food therapy
It seems as though comfort food season will never end. Between storms, unending rain, and a steady stream of flus and colds, I’ve run through every comfort food dish on every handwritten index card in my precious, circa 1962, wooden recipe box and we’ve still got a pandemic and election to get through.
There are only so many biscuits and gravy or bowls of chicken and dumplings that a sick or stressed family member can eat before the “comfort” gets crushed out of all their favorite comfort foods by the sheer force of repetition.
The solution to our comfort food fatigue was there in front of me all along. A dish so versatile, so delicious, and so simple, yet brimming with customizable flavor potential that it immediately thawed the culinary winter our comfort food had been frozen within. What we needed to break through our comfort food monotony was the world’s most popular comfort food—congee.
Congee is a form of porridge that originated in China around 1000 B.C. We Southerners already eat plenty of porridges like grits, oatmeal, and cream of wheat, but unlike the porridges we know and love, congee acts as a warm, soothing blank canvas for us to paint our own perfect, comforting flavors onto.
Because it’s such a versatile dish, almost every Asian country (and many Western countries) has their own version using various grains, flavored broths, and toppings, but for me, rice congee is like a soothing elixir that makes everything wrong in the world seem right again.
The base of congee is just rice cooked in broth until the rice begins to break down and thicken. That alone can be satisfying, but it’s like eating unbuttered toast – a bit bland and screaming for something more. This is where the toppings come into play and where you can customize this dish to make it the comfort food of your dreams.
Like bacon egg and cheese? Top your congee with pork belly or bacon, poached egg, smoked gouda, and tomato. Craving fall flavors? Add cooked pumpkin or Kabocha squash, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and coconut yogurt. Are spices your jam? Sprinkle a pinch of cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg into the rice, then drizzle on coconut cream and muscovado sugar before topping with goji berries, fruit and minced fresh ginger.
I usually go with a more O.G. congee approach using traditional Chinese toppings like minced pork or shredded chicken, shitake mushrooms, shallots, minced ginger, spring onions, cilantro, minced garlic, a soft boiled egg, and chopped peanuts. Add a dash or two of soy and/or Sriracha sauce and a Chinese cruller (buy ‘em frozen at the Asian market) and curl up on the couch embraced by comforting congee love and warmth.
The best part about congee is that you can make it what you want. Make it simple, make it complex, use familiar flavors or experiment with different grains, cooking liquids and toppings. It’s your bowl, fill it with what makes you happy.
Mike’s Comforting Congee
Serves 6–8
- 1 chicken (approximately 3 lbs)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 6 spring onions, trimmed
- 6 oz Thai jasmine rice, rinsed
- 2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger fresh ginger – 1 crushed, 1 cut into thick slices
- ½ tbsp black pepper
Bring enough water to cover the chicken to a boil. Add the chicken, spring onions, the piece of crushed ginger, and salt. Bring back to a low boil and cook for 15 mins. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 30–90 mins (until juices run clear). Remove chicken from broth until cool enough to handle.
Add the rinsed rice to a pan with 2 liters of the strained chicken broth and the remaining slices of ginger. Bring to the boil over high heat, lower to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 40 mins. If your porridge is too soupy, continue to cook and stir; if it’s too thick, add more broth and continue to stir.
Take the meat off the chicken, shred, and set aside.
Ladle hot congee into warm bowls, top with chicken, black pepper, and whatever other toppings you want.
Toppings
- Spring onions
- Fresh ginger
- Fried shallots
- Fried garlic
- Asian style beef or fish balls
- Soft boiled egg
- Chili oil
- Cilantro
- Sesame seeds
- Sriracha
- Magi sauce
Other toppings
- Bacon
- Tofu or tempeh
- Kimchi or other fermented goodies
- Sautéed vegetables
- Thai sweet basil
- Use your imagination!
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan who has traveled abroad extensively, trained chefs, and owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits