Name: Congee, or Rice Porridge (Jook)
Prep time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade, or water; ½ cup glutinous rice or more short-grain rice; ½ cup short-grain rice; ¼ cup minced crisp cooked bacon, optional; ½ cup roasted peanuts, optional; Dark sesame oil for drizzling, optional; One 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; ¼ pound slab bacon, optional; ¼ cup minced scallion

Preparation info

Makes
6
servings

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
2 hr 30

Appears in

The Best Recipes in the World

By Mark Bittman

Published 2005

About

At its most basic, jook is soupy rice, perhaps with some salt or soy sauce. Conceptually, this would not appeal to most Americans, and the notion of congee did not appeal to me for many years. Yet when it was first served to me I thought it miraculous—of course it had a few more ingredients—and it turns out to be even better when made at home, where you can cook the rice in stock rather than water. A great part of a Chinese feast, as well as a wonderful breakfast or lunch.